Washington (H24N). In a country where food-borne illness causes approximately 5,000 deaths and 76 million illnesses each year, many consumers have become wary about eating prepared foods. However, ordering your next meal may be a little easier thanks to a new study released last month tracking the most contaminated foods reported.

The three foods that have made the most people sick due to contamination over the past 10 years are seafood, eggs and beef, according to a 52-page report entitled "Outbreak Alert!"

Compiled by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), the study analyzed the 865 food-borne illness outbreaks that occurred from 1990 to 2000 using data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, state and local health departments and medical journals.

Seafood, both fish and shellfish, contributed to the most outbreaks, totaling 237 over the 10-year period. Most of the these illnesses were caused by mahi mahi, salted whitefish, tuna, buffalo fish, blue marlin, sturgeon, grouper, ahi, crab, and shrimp, while the 41 shellfish outbreaks were traced to oysters, clams and mussels.

Eggs and egg dishes were the next largest source of food-borne illness, causing 170 reported outbreaks. Included in this category are foods that contain eggs: pudding, stuffing, baked ziti and ice cream.

Beef was third largest cause of illnesses, 91 in all. Ground beef contributed to 40 of the 91 reported outbreaks.

Also in the report, 82 of the outbreaks were linked to fruit and vegetables, including cantaloupe, tomatoes, strawberries, watermelon, potatoes, scallions, lettuce, raspberries, sprouts, basil and parsley.

Other sources of contamination listed in descending order after produce include dairy products, pork, game, juices and processed meats.

Contrary to the belief that meat and poultry, two foods regulated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), would be the largest sources of contamination, CSPI found that the foods causing the most outbreaks were those regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA): seafood, eggs and produce-accounting for 682 of the reported illnesses. These findings are significant, because, as CSPI points out in its report, "FDA's budget for inspecting foods is approximately one-third of USDA's food inspection budget, so FDA oversees the safety of more food with less money." There were 179 USDA-regulated food illness outbreaks in the 10-year period.

CSPI's three-year compilation effort is first ever to provide a complete picture of food-borne illness trends in the United States. However, Caroline Smith DeWaal, director of food safety for CSPI, says that the CDC needs to take on the job of tracking all food-borne outbreaks and provide that information to the public.

"While the [CDC] and the states investigate outbreaks, no federal agency maintains a comprehensive inventory of outbreaks for the public. To best protect the public's health, CDC–not CSPI–should be the clearinghouse for information on food-poisoning outbreaks," said DeWaal.

NEWS AND TRENDS | CAREER CENTER | EDUCATION
Home | Resources
Site Index | Contact Us | FAQs | Subscribe | Advertise