Source: Rita Jane Gabbett, MEATINGPLACE, 4/17/14


The Centers for Disease Control’s 2013 Food Safety Progress Report showed a 9 percent decrease in salmonella infections in 2013 compared to the previous three years, bringing it to the rate last observed in the 2006-2008 baseline period.

Campylobacter infections, however — often linked to dairy products and chicken — have risen 13 percent since 2006-2008.  

Vibrio infections, often linked to eating raw shellfish, were at the highest level observed since active tracking began in 1996; however, rates of infections caused by Vibrio vulnificus, the most severe species, have remained steady.

Rates of the other foodborne infections tracked have not changed since the period between 2006 and2008.
“This year’s data show some recent progress in reducing salmonella rates, and also highlight that our work to reduce the burden of foodborne illness is far from over,” said Dr. Robert Tauxe, deputy director of CDC’s Division of Foodborne, Waterborne and Environmental Diseases, in a news releate. “To keep salmonella on the decline, we need to work with the food industry and our federal, state and local partners to implement strong actions to control known risks and to detect foodborne germs lurking in unsuspected foods.”

The data for the report card come from the Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network (FoodNet), a group of experts from CDC, ten state health departments, USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service, and the FDA.

In 2013, FoodNet logged just over 19,000 infections, 4,200 hospitalizations, and 80 deaths from the nine germs it tracks. Young children were the most affected group for seven of the nine germs that FoodNet tracks.

"Steps are underway to address many of the concerns raised in this report, such as our Salmonella Action Plan and other plans to modernize food inspection,” said Dr. David Goldman, assistant administrator for FSIS’ Office of Public Health Science.

The news release specifically cited new standards for cut-up poultry parts and plans to modernize poultry inspection as programs already in the works to increase the safety of chicken.

Here are the culture-confirmed and laboratory-confirmed infection totals for 2013; the cases per 100,000 population and the Healthy People 2020 targets:

Pathogen      2013 Cases      Per 100,000      2020 goal
Campylobacter      6621      13.82      8.5
Listeria      123      0.26      0.2
Salmonella      7,277      15.19      11.4
Shigella      2,309      4.82      n/a
STEC O157      552      1.15      0.6
STEC non-O157      561      1.17      n/a
Vibrio      242      0.51      0.2
Yersinia      171      0.36      0.3
Cryptosporidium      1,186      2.48      n/a
Cyclospora      14      0.03      n/a

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