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Subscribe to RSSSalad greens make the most people sick, but contaminated poultry kills the most Americans, federal researchers report in the first comprehensive look at the foods that cause foodborne illnesses. And there are a few surprises -- the bug most likely to be lurking in a salad is norovirus, and it probably came from the hands of the person who made it.
This doesn’t mean salad is more dangerous, the team at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stresses: It just shows what foods are most involved and may reflect how often people eat them.
“When the average American looks at this data, they need to know that we are not trying to make estimates of the risk of illness per serving of any of the food categories,” says the CDC’s Dr. Patricia Griffin, who heads the agency’s branch that investigates stomach bugs.
“We are just providing information on what are the food categories that are the major sources of illness ... so regulators can take action to make food safer.”
Food poisoning is extremely common. The CDC estimates that 48 million Americans get some sort of foodborne illness every year, 128,000 of them are sick enough to go to the hospital and 3,000 die. Most of the time, the bacteria, virus or parasite responsible is never identified, and usually the particular food isn’t, either.
Griffin’s team analyzed all the data they could get on every outbreak of foodborne illness reported between 1998 and 2008 in which both the food source and the microbe responsible were known. They broke the food down into 17 categories.
“We attributed 46 percent of illnesses to produce and found that more deaths were attributed to poultry than to any other commodity,” they wrote in their report, published in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases on Tuesday.
“(The data ) indicate that efforts are particularly needed to prevent contamination of produce and poultry.”
This doesn't mean people should swap out salads for, say, fries.
“We certainly would not want people to avoid any category of food,” Griffin said. “We know that the vast majority of meals are safe. As far as fruits and vegetables in particular, CDC is well aware and promotes the fact that they are an important part of a healthy diet. They are linked to reduced risk of heart attacks, strokes and cancer. “
Cooking food is one of the best ways to prevent illness, as proper cooking will kill most disease-causing agents. As raw meat and eggs are often contaminated, proper food handling techniques are also important.
It’s harder to protect against germs on raw food, however. “Our data found that produce items were a common cause of illness, accounting for almost half of illnesses,” Griffin said in a telephone interview. “Most of those produce items that caused those illnesses were consumed raw.”
And norovirus – also known as Norwalk virus, which causes gastrointestinal upset commonly known as stomach flu or winter vomiting disease – was a major cause of illness contracted from raw vegetables, the CDC finds.
Contaminated meat and poultry accounted for 22 percent of illness but 29 percent of deaths, while dairy and eggs accounted for 20 percent of illnesses and 15 percent of deaths.
Last week, CDC reported 1,527 foodborne disease outbreaks in 2009 and 2010. They said 29,444 people got sick and 23 died in these outbreaks. Norovirus or Salmonella -- especially in eggs, sprouts, tomatoes and peppers -- caused most, while Campylobacter in unpasteurized dairy products, Salmonella in eggs, and E. coli 0157 in beef were also very common causes of food poisoning outbreaks. And nearly half -- 48 percent -- of all outbreaks from a single place were traced to restaurants or delis.
News reports have focused a great deal on outbreaks of diseases such as salmonella, listeria and E. coli, and the Food and Drug Administration, US Department of Agriculture and other regulators have focused on protecting food from animal contamination such as bird droppings and manure from pigs and cows, which carry these agents.
But norovirus is carried and spread only by humans.
“The way that you get it from food is when a food handler doesn’t wash his hands after an episode of diarrhea or vomiting and then prepares food,” Griffin said. This is an area that may require extra focus, she says.
“Washing hands is very, very important,” she added. Norovirus can be spread before a person feels sick and for days after he or she recovers, also.
Adding to the risk is the issue of sick leave. Many food preparers, restaurant workers and food handlers do not get paid sick leave, and thus are encouraged to work while they are ill. One study published in 2011 in the American Journal of Public Health projected that workers who did not get paid time off for illness helped spread 5 million cases of respiratory disease during the 2009 H1N1 swine flu pandemic.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics says 39 percent of private sector workers have no paid sick leave, and this number rises to 70 percent for food and hotel workers.
There’s a bill in Congress that would mandate sick leave for many employers, supported by President Barack Obama and groups including the National Women’s Health Network, the AFL-CIO, Families USA and others. It was last considered in 2009.
So besides cooking meat and making sure greens are washed well, how can people protect themselves? “I would advise people to avoid eating raw foods of animal origin, and that includes raw milk,” Griffin said. Shellfish? “You have to make a decision about raw shellfish and how much you love them, how much risk you want to take and what your risk might be,” she said.
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This is so true. My brother is a chef and it's amazing what gets passed around the kitchen where he works. But if he misses a day, he misses that pay. Not that he gets paid a heck of a lot either.
Surprisingly, though, I worked in a busy radiology office where people with pneumonia and other upper respiratory infections would cough almost in my face, or in their hands then touch pens, clipboards and door handles that everyone touches (without hand sanitizer), and rarely did the office staff or techs get sick.
Go figure.
Sometimes when I mix "5 hour energy" drink along with a "Red Bull" coffee latte, I get the steps out of order. 1. Gut chicken 2. Cut up salad. 3. Pull skin off chicken. 4. Pour the wine 5. Bread chicken 6. Knead the bread dough....... it should be ok though, because I wash my hands after every third step.
Reason being is that respiratory infections are often bacterial and not infectious on the same level and in the same way as norovirus and other 'stomach flu' bugs.
I'am going to say cockaroches alamode.
At the of the day, the most important thing is to live a healthy lifestyle. The more raw foods you and exercise do, the easier it is to ward off illness and recover quickly.
The same goes for most Doctor Office staff.
In an odd sort of way, working in the doctor's office might give you a bit of immunity, as you are exposed to more germs.
I've always said that as Americans we are TOO germ aware. We wash, we clean, we bleach, we disinfect, we close our windows and use HEPA filters on everything. Then, if we walk outside and are exposed to a stray germ ... we are sick!
That's not to say we shouldn't have a clean enviornment to live in and to take food handling precautions. But if we are NEVER exposed to a germ ... then we can't defend when we finally are.
(Knock on wood) our family is generally a pretty healthy bunch. But we use A/C and heating as little as possible and keep the windows open. We have a pet (which is proven to boost immunity) and we clean with natural products instead of harsh disinfectants (except for the obvious areas like toilets).
For example, I wash produce but DON'T bleach my kitchen every day.
Having said that if someone DID get sick, I would of course disinfect.
Missed my guess.
The system would work great if everyone was honest and only took sick time off when they were sick. Unfortunately since these type of jobs are the lowest around it tends to have a higher concentration of people who will abuse these type of systems. They probably got fired from other jobs for doing it and now this is all they can find. Like most things lately the honest person has to suffer because of the wrong doings of others...I still hate it that I cannot get sudafed in the middle of the night because of the druggies
Perhaps the X-rays are sterilizing your salad!
want to stop norovirus? it's easy. call your state health department, and get them to ban the use of gloves in food production. EVERY study done on food safety tells us to wash our hands, but the minute you put a set of gloves on someone, they touch everything in sight thinking they are 'safe'. i've worked in food for 2 decades, and while i used to see people washing their hands every couple of minutes, now i watch them throw on a set of gloves....and leave them on for a half hour at a time. every person in food service knows what the problem is, but the glove makers must have offered a bigger bribe to the health department than the soap makers did or something. we know so much more about food safety now, yet we allow gloves to be used, even knowing they cause more problems than they solve.
last night, i watched the guy at a Subway make a sandwich, then ring up the customer, and walk back to me asking for my order. 'my first order is to change your gloves, and wash your hands, or i'll call your district supervisor.' i'd rather have someone's clean but bare hands making my food than a set of gloves that i didn't see them put on. if a food worker isn't going through 200 sets of gloves in a day, they are probably getting someone sick.
Interesting point, I hadn't thought of that.
Amen!
very good comment -- thanks
@sikchimp,
You are 100% correct. Gloves allow for lax hand washing. They are NOT an alternative (neither is hand sanitizer btw), and food service/sanitation regulations call for people to wash hands both before and after putting gloves on/taking them off. Unfortunately, few do.
As a chef, I prefer to use my bare, clean, hands - but I also use gloves for 'high risk' foods like meat, seafood, and poultry.
They both have their place in a kitchen, but like any tool, they need to be used properly - and THAT falls on management, to ensure food service employees not only KNOW the proper use of gloves but actually follow through.
Your story about the Subway worker made me laugh. If people only knew some of the disgusting things workers do in kitchens it would make the majority stay at home and never trust anyone else to prepare their food!
Fortunately, well trained staff know better.
Thanks for your excellent post.
As a food service employee for 25 yrs I have never seen sick pay offered anywhere. I either worked or did not get paid. I needed the money. My wife, an in home health care provider, not only does not get sick pay but has to take the next day off, also unpaid. Being as how food service and personal care providers pay is so good we never had to work when we were sick. Yea, right.
Where I live, the law only provides for THREE unpaid sick days a year. THREE. AND you have to have a doctor's note. I am in university and have had friends work through stomach bugs, flu, whatever, simply because they would be fired from the minimum wage job that pays their gas money or bus pass, groceries or tuition, if they didn't show up and work when they could hardly stand up. It's criminal in my mind...
Why doesn't the FDA require the 'total' amount as to 'sodium' and the 'total' amount as to 'potassium' in both prepared, canned, and in fresh foods . Almost all persons with high blood pressure or renal problems, or both, MUST limit the total ingestion of sodium and potassium due to a relationship between them.
Eating or drinking foods high in either element (sodium and potassium) can be dangerous and life threatening to a significant number of people without them even aware of the problem. In addition, what is called a "healthy diet" including whole grains (inc. Bran), milk, juices, most vegetables and fruits, some seafood such as salmon, bi-valves, shrimp, etc. have a high content of potassium and, perhaps, sodium.
Next doctor's office visit, have a blood and urine test done which includes a test for potassium levels, 3 month sugar peaks, and, perhaps sodium levels. Your well being may be at risk.
Food poisoning is extremely common
Oh really ?? it's not in europe, in fact it's rare.. I live in France, I don't know any one that have gotten sick from food poisonning.
I am going to tell you something... KFC imports their chicken from China, and the chinese pick up dead chicken that they send to the usa.
Also, industrialized farming and ranching is bad... it stresses the animals so much that the meat becaome contaminated.
I lived in the usa for 25 years and if you ask me, your food is truely poisonned. Hormons in meat, genetically modified grains, in meat, milk, all dairy products, bread, etc... hormones, antibiotics, pesticides and we can go on and on... Some people are poisonning the public, why ? that is the question you have to ask, who does it profit ?
the american food and drink supply is unsafe, this is one of the reason why I moved back to europe, this is serieus people. My ex compagnon got food poisonning and he could have died. You want to stay healthy, stop eating at those junk food places !
Sorry you apparently decided not to look at the statistics.
Which show the levels of food poisoning in France and USA were almost identical when compared per 100,000 head of population in 2007, I can not track anything more recent. Food borne illness is common in Europe and is common in other countries, to think otherwise merely puts people at risk.
Me I get sick just thinking about French cuisine, except, of course, your fries and toast. . .
Apparently, you aren't well enough educated to understand food risks or statistics (or grammar). Food poisoning occurs in every country. The French use pesticides. The water supply in the U.S. is safer than it is in most other countries. Free-range meat isn't any safer than factory-farmed meat. The same bacteria are present regardless of where the animals are raised, and "backyard" farmers don't adhere to the strict regulations required of factory farms. Of course, factory farms aren't the most pleasant of places for animals. Using antibiotics in animal food is a horrible idea for many reasons, but it probably doesn't contribute to food poisoning. Antibiotic-resistant bugs die just as easily when you wash them down the drain and cook your food properly.
I find it amusing during flu season that some people will become obsessive over washing their hands to limit their exposure to germs and then turn around and frequently dine out. "I'm going to religiously avoid contact with anything and everything that might have surface germs. I'll wash my hands and soak them with hand sanitizer if washing isn't a viable option. Oh, you want to go grab lunch somewhere where a bunch of strangers are handling the food at all stages of it's preparation? Count me in. I hope whoever wrapped the utensils and laid them on this table that was wiped with a damp rag wasn't sick."
They're right about one thing. We don't have sick time where I work, and everyone (including myself), comes to work sick all the time. I can't afford to miss a day's pay. No way.
Don't worry America - We deep fat fry everything anyway, so any food-borne illnesses will be dealt with!
Ha Ha Ha. Suppose you are one that uses the same oil for months on end like most people. That oil may cause cancer. Fast food or at home, throw that much used oil into a recycling can.
Justin,You may be onto something.Growing up my mother fired everything even steaks.We never were sick and none of us has heart disease.Maybe frying food kills all bacteria and viruses.
when I was pregnant I got specific written instructions from my OB that said to avoid the following, egg salads, or any deli salads with egg, shrimp salad and and deli made salad that has seafood in it and deli meats. I was told to only eat these things if you make them yourself or know that they have been handled properly. I took that advice a step further and decided to not realy eat these types of things out anymore even if I am not pregnant!
I got the same advise when I was pregnant and as you still don't eat those items. I also will not eat any veggie pre-bagged. Those pre-bagged salads have a funny odor. All my produce is washed with mild soap and water. Same as we did as kids probably became as habit from picking fresh veggies and fruits and best way to get the dirt off.
Back in the 40's and 50's, Mayo could be left out of the icebox/fridge for a long time without fear. Today, it cannot be used if left out just a very short time. Confusing isn't it.
PS: Imaging, if eating at a fast food place, how long that ketchup has been out or that mustard, or that steak sauce? Hint. Bring your own packets. Another tip. Bring along some salt and pepper packs so that you do not have to use the shakers.
Guardian- Mayo doesn't spoil any faster than it ever did. The vinegar inhibits bacterial growth, to a point. Ketchup, mustard, and steak sauce also contain a lot of vinegar and they don't contain milk or eggs (which bacteria love). The only way you'll get sick from those or the salt and pepper shakers is from the viruses on the outsides of the containers. Pre-bagged vegetables are no more likely to give you food poisoning than other raw vegetables. They do have preservatives, though. Not all preservatives are bad, but I don't know what kind is used in vegetables.
It amazes me that the don't even mention fish in the article, except for a tiny bit about shellfish at the end of the story. Five years ago my husband ate a salmon steak at a restaurant and was violently ill for 24 hours. He had triple berry pie for desert, you can imagine what color his cookies were when they were thrown. Poor guy couldn't even get out of bed he was so sick.
If he got sick immediately afterwards, it probably wasn't the salmon. If the pie had any sort of custard or home-made whipped cream (not from a can), it could have been that. It also could have been rice. Fortunately, the kinds of bacteria that make you immediately ill aren't the ones that kill you. You just wish you were dead for a while!
Every business, especially restaurants, needs paper towels and an open-top wastebasket by the door. Employees need more than a sign posted to remind them they must wash hands before returning to work. What good does it do to wash their hands when they must then turn a dirty door handle touched by numerous customers, both male and female, who DON'T wash their hands. Hand washing has limited benefit unless you then turn off the water with a paper towel and open the door with a paper towel. Otherwise you are just recontaminating with more than you washed away!
My pet peeve ...Working in food service in Corrections....
Inmate food service workers wearing their cheap thin plastic food service gloves....With their hands in their pants with their gloves on....
Or worse yet, their hands in someone else's pants. . .
Good info--also a challenge to eat safely when one is eating out! I grow a lot of my own veggies, but occasionally get a bag of carrots or other 'pre-washed' veggies/lettuce--I think I'll start washing them--I wonder if vinegar would help to kill germs? Maybe swish the veggies or lettuce around in a clean bag with clean water and vinegar in it?
Forget those so-called tricks. Washing does not remove germs and viruses unless a soap, antibiotic type, product is used. Yulk! It merely removes surface dirt. Vinegar (acetic acid) isn't strong enough to do anything except add a taste to the food.
Vinegar is actually a great disinfectant. For example, it's a great home remedy against athlete's foot. That is a fungus, of course, but it's obvious vinegar is strong enough to kill a disease. I'd imagine it works fairly well for bacteria and viruses as well. I'd keep in mind that you probably need more of a soak than just a swish, though.
Thank you both for your input :) Byron, it sounds like more of a soak rather than a swish is a good thing to try. SCG, there may very well be some germs that would need more than a soak in vinegar, so there may be times when it is wise to only eat what is thoroughly cooked, like in an outbreak of a virulent bug. The vinegar thing would be good as a general precautionary measure, worth trying!
My father just spent 9 weeks in the hospital due to food poisoning that then infected his entire system through a bleeding ulcer. He became septic and had to have 5 blood transfusions. I don't know what he ate that caused the food poisoning, but it was something from a restaurant as he was on vacation when he became ill.
I've decided to live on sprouts I grow myself in sterile mason jars using purified water. You all stay away from me!
We have bad air; when do we give up breathing? Text me.
Americans immunity strength is the main culprit in the deaths of leafy greens, poultry and dairy products food poisoning. In the countries like India, people grow leafy greens and raise poultry and cattle using brown water mainly coming from the treated or untreated sewage, still they live normal lives and do not have food poisoning issues like us. It is not correct that we use too much detergent and soaps and kill many good bacteria along with few bad?
Lack of sick days ARE a problem. When I took my current job, it was the first time in many years I've had sick days. I seldom need them, but I think just knowing I have them helps keep "illness stress" down!
Most, if not all, other first world countries REQUIRE sick days for employees and REQUIRE vacation days for employees. Of course in the US, that's "against employer's rights" so we don't see it in many places. Some employers HAVE figured out that by doing it, they have greater productivity and it DOES increase the bottom line.
Now if just ALL would get on board.
I LOVE my lightly cooked greens!!!! They are still very very good for you, especially if you eat them frequently; and cooking them lightly takes care of many problems.
how does one "lightly cook" lettuce ?
we are obsessed with cooking food, there are better ways. american (and i am from indiana) dairy products for example are a joke. our milk flavorless and our cheese bland & lifeless. this is due to ridiculous governmental regulation. as if the gov't can protect us from everything. done right, unpastuerised dairy is incredibly safe, see Europe, and amazing
I'm an R.N; food prep in hospitals is done by ex-con's,recovering substance abusers and a miriod of transients.The sickest people in the city are in Hospital and I've seen plenty of Doctors who think gloves are for their own protection,I brown bag it.
If they can't identify the bacteria, virus, parasite or even the food involved, how can the claim it was food poisoning? Also, what's with this estimate crap? I thought the CDC was the expert on this kind of stuff. If they can't even track simple food poisoning, how can we accept any data they produce? Maybe they've been making up all the data on influenza.
1. They know it is food poisoning based on the symptoms.
2. They estimate because not everyone goes to the doctor or hospital when they do get food poisoning. They just try to treat it at home.
3. Tracking food poisoning is far from simple. With the incredibly variety of sources of foods, it can be very complex.
I've been telling people for years never to eat the pre-bagged vegetables.
Here's one thing they didn't mention. If the plumbing lines chronically back up in the block of the business there is an increased risk of food poisoning even if the restaurant is cleaned well every day. My kid got food poisoning at a restaurant that way. Didn't find that information out from the health department but the people who worked at the restaurants themselves. The city needed to replace the lines from street to curb and once they replaced them all the businesses on the block quit having that problem with it's customers irregardless of what kind of food it was.
Real hot grease kills all the germs.
There they go again with the raw milk,many more people have problems with pasturized milk due to problems during the processing of it.Make everybody wash there money may help ,because you handle money after buying food ,but how many wash their hands after handling money befor they eat the food?!?! Grass fed cows don't develope e-coli like the factory cows due due to intestinal dysbiosis. Also sugar needs to be removed from your diet due to even 1 teaspoon upsetting your immune system.
I've seen some things in my years of catering, but nothing compared to these two:
1. A restaurant worker who was picking up handfuls of salad (for the to-go crowd), then going to the cash register and handling money.
2. A wedding guest who put a loaded baby diaper under the table, rather than go to the ladies' room and dispose of it properly. So, mama handled the diaper, then went back to the buffet table. Really disgusting.
Main thing is to be aware of what you're doing. Yes, wash your hands every single time you use the bathroom. Yes, stay home if you're sick. Yes, do not cough on people.
I don't think we need to be like Howard Hughes on the hand-washing, but I do think we all need to be aware of what we touch, what's going on around us, and who is coughing and sneezing (or puking and pooping, as the case may be).