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Foodborne Illness Outbreaks in Spotlight as Technology Improves

Government officials and food industry groups say increased investigations, linked to foods ranging from romaine lettuce to ground beef and melon, don’t mean the U.S. food system is less safe. They’re the result—at least in part—of new tools that have made it easier to link individual illnesses and determine their source. A key tool in the fight against foodborne illness, whole genome sequencing, is used to map the complete DNA of a pathogen. The technology is helping officials tie together illnesses that may once have appeared distinct, and better identify food products—and food makers—responsible for the spread of disease.

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  National Outbreaks Reporting System (NORS)

Use NORS Dashboard to search and access data from reports of foodborne and waterborne disease outbreaks and enteric (intestinal) disease outbreaks spread by contact with environmental sources, infected people or animals, and other means.

  Foodborne Outbreaks

Including current and past foodborne outbreaks...

 CDC Current Outbreak List

Infectious disease outbreaks currently being reported on by CDC.

 Food Poisoning Bulletin

Food Poisoning Bulletin is a news source for consumers to alert them to food recalls, food poisoning outbreaks and food safety news. Our goals are to empower consumers and make the United States food supply the safest it can be.

 Foodborne Illness Outbreaks

Breaking news for everyone's consumption.

 Foodborne Outbreaks: More Complex, Deadlier, Harder To Stop

The complex paths that ingredients take to become the foods we eat, and that foods follow to reach our plates, are creating foodborne disease outbreaks that occur in many places at once and are more common and more deadly than ever before.

 Who's to blame for foodborne illness outbreaks

Sick workers contribute to 40% of foodborne illness outbreaks at restaurants and food chains in the U.S., according to new data from the CDC, and some experts say corporate policies around employee health need to change. 30 years since E. coli came into the public consciousness, have things improved?

Articles of Interest

Big and deadly: Major foodborne outbreaks spike sharply

Major foodborne outbreaks in the United States have more than tripled in the last 20 years, and the germs most frequently implicated are familiar to most Americans: Salmonella, E. coli, and Listeria.

Chasing Outbreaks: How Safe Is Our Food?

A 1993 E. coli outbreak linked to Jack in the Box hamburgers sickened 700 people and drew new attention to the dangers of food-borne illness. More than 20 years later, how far have we come?

Fish-Associated Outbreaks: One of Most Common for Foodborne Illness

The majority (52%) of fish-associated outbreaks were prepared in restaurants and 33% with fish prepared in a home. Illness-risk can be reduced by proper transporting, processing, cleaning, handling, cooking, and storing fish. The most common causes of outbreaks are Scombrotoxin (55%) and ciguatoxin (36%). These illnesses are not prevented by cooking. The largest fish outbreaks are associated with Salmonella. Proper processing, refrigeration, cooking temperatures (145°F) can prevent prevent Salmonella contamination.

Food Poisoning: An Untrackable Illness In A Globalized World

“Food production has been industrialized and its trade and distribution have been globalized,” Dr Margaret Chan, the WHO’s Director-General, said to mark the day. “These changes introduce multiple new opportunities for food to become contaminated with harmful bacteria, viruses, parasites, or chemicals.”

Food-borne illnesses, Part I: The big picture

Peanuts and peppers, hamburgers and spinach, chicken and cheese, even cookie dough. Nearly every week, it seems, there's another scare about contaminated foods and the epidemics that result. What's gone wrong with America's food supply? And what can we do, as individuals and as a society, to be sure our food is safe and healthful?

Foodborne Illness Part II: How Do Scientists Track Outbreaks?

It’s important to note that despite their association with microbial contamination, the risk of contracting foodborne illness is still not high enough to warrant forgoing vegetable consumption altogether, as long as food storage and handling precautions, such as washing produce before consumption and temperature control, are properly exercised and there is not an active, ongoing outbreak. Sorry about that, supertasters.

Foodborne Illnesses and Outbreaks from Fresh Produce

The produce industry continues to be associated with a series of foodborne illness outbreaks across multiple U.S. states and Canada, resulting in hundreds of illnesses and hospitalizations, as well as kidney failure and death in some cases.

More outbreaks of foodborne illnesses: Here’s what you need to know

The U.S. consumer can be forgiven any Foodborne Illness Outbreak Confusion and Fatigue.

Outbreaks of Foodborne Illnesses Are Becoming Harder to Detect

New diagnostic tests inadvertently undercut surveillance abilities of public health officials.

Rising trends of foodborne illnesses in the U.S.: short communication

Despite continuous preventive measures, foodborne illness is still a significant public health threat in the United States. Frequent dining at fast-food restaurants and the use of processed foods that include unhealthy levels of added sugar, sodium, and fat present an immense risk of foodborne illness.

The Botulism Outbreak That Gave Rise to America’s Food Safety System

In late 1919 and early 1920, scientists and canners worked with the government to protect the public from the deadly toxin.

The World's Biggest Food Poisoning Scares

There are few things that are less fun than food poisoning. There you are, going about your business, when suddenly you’re nothing short of immobilized, all because you ate the wrong thing. We’ve rounded up the ten worst food poisoning outbreaks in recent history.

Timeline for Identifying and Reporting Illnesses in Foodborne Outbreaks

A series of events happen before public health officials can report that a case of illness is linked to an outbreak. Each event takes a certain amount of time. This time is known as the “reporting lag” or “lag window” of an outbreak. It is usually 3–4 weeks. For illnesses caused by some bacteria, such as Listeria, it may be longer. Public health officials work to speed up this process when possible.

Viruses Take the Lead in Causing Foodborne Illness Outbreaks

Viruses have edged out bacteria as the leading cause of foodborne disease outbreaks, according to a recent surveillance report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

What Happens After a Foodborne Illness Outbreak?

Almost 50 million people get sick in the United States every year after consuming contaminated food. Over the last decade, we’ve heard of outbreaks of foodborne illness linked to everything from E.coli in spinach, salmonella in turkey and peanut butter, and most recently, listeria in ice cream.

Resources

40% of Food Illness Outbreaks Are Linked to Sick Restaurant Workers

Sick restaurant and food-store workers were linked to four in 10 U.S. foodborne disease outbreaks in recent years, yet few establishments had comprehensive policies in place to prevent contamination, a government analysis found.

Outbreak

Foodborne illness is a big problem. Wash those chicken breasts, and you’re likely to spread Salmonella to your countertops, kitchen towels, and other foods nearby. Even salad greens can become biohazards when toxic strains of E. coli inhabit the water used to irrigate crops.

FDA

When two or more people get the same illness from the same contaminated food or drink, the event is called a foodborne illness outbreak.