27.05.2016

Foodborne diseases due to known pathogens are estimated to cause about 9.4 million illnesses each year in the United States. In 2014, 864 foodborne disease outbreaks were reported, resulting in 13,246 illnesses, 712 hospitalizations, 21 deaths, and 21 food recalls. Ground beef was the contaminated food or ingredient in five of the 25 multistate outbreaks. Four were caused by Shiga toxin producing E. coli and 1 by Salmonella. Fish (43 outbreaks), chicken (23), and dairy (19, of which 15 were due to unpasteurized products) were the most common single food categories implicated. The most outbreak associated illnesses were from seeded vegetables (e.g. cucumbers or tomatoes, 428 illnesses), chicken (354), and dairy (267).As reported in previous years, restaurants (485 outbreaks, 65% of outbreaks reporting a single location of preparation), specifically restaurants with sit-down dining (394, 53%), were the most commonly reported locations of food preparation.