CDC Vital Signs - Making Food Safer to Eat

CDC Vital Signs - Making Food Safer to Eat: "Making Food Safer to Eat
Reducing contamination from the farm to the table

Each year, roughly 1 in 6 people in the US gets sick from eating contaminated food. The 1,000 or more reported outbreaks that happen each year reveal familiar culprits—Salmonella and other common germs. We know that reducing contamination works. During the past 15 years, a dangerous type of E. coli infection, responsible for the recall of millions of pounds of ground beef, has been cut almost in half. Yet during that same time, Salmonella infection, which causes more hospitalizations and deaths than any other type of germ found in food and $365 million in direct medical costs annually, has not declined. Each year, 1 million people get sick from eating food contaminated with Salmonella. Applying lessons learned from reducing E. coli O157 infections could help reduce illness caused by Salmonella.

Problem
Targeting Salmonella
Salmonella infection has not declined in 15 years

Reducing Salmonella infection is difficult because

* It is found in many different types of foods: meats, eggs, fruits, vegetables, and even processed foods such as peanut butter.
* Contamination can occur anywhere: from fields where food is grown to cutting boards in kitchens.
* What we eat and how we eat have changed: foods coming from one central location are widely distributed, meaning that sickness can spread quickly; we eat more meals outside the home; and more foods and ingredients come from all over the world.
* Some policies and procedures that can make a difference in reducing contamination take years to put into place.

Foods associated with Salmonella outbreaks*

This chart shows the percentages of different single food commodities that are associated with Salmonella outbreaks: Poultry: 29.3%; Eggs: 17.6%; Pork: 11.7%; Beef: 8.3%; Vine: 6.8%; Fruits-nuts: 6.3%; Dairy: 5.4% Other**: 14.6%. **Other includes: Sprouts, leafy greens, roots, fish, grains-beans, shellfish, oil-sugar, and dairy.

*These contaminated ingredients or single foods (belonging to one food category) were associated with 1/3 of the Salmonella outbreaks.

†Other includes: Sprouts, leafy greens, roots, fish, grains-beans, shellfish, oil-sugar, and dairy.

Source: CDC National Outbreak Reporting System, 2004–2008.

Salmonella infection can be reduced by

* Taking strong and specific action to identify and prevent contamination from the farm to the table—a primary lesson learned in successfully reducing E. coli O157 infection.
* Developing new prevention strategies for the riskiest foods before and after harvesting.
* Enhancing laboratory testing and disease reporting to more quickly identify outbreaks and their causes.
* Investigating outbreaks quickly and alerting consumers and industry of concerns to prevent more illness.
* Using prevention-focused safety systems like the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point management system and applying technologies (for example, use of high temperatures in pasteurization and cooking) to reduce contamination.
* Putting into action new policies that focus on preventing food safety problems and address new challenges.

Change in E. coli O157 and Salmonella infection, 1996–2010

This line graph shows the change in the relative rates of E. coli O157 (STEC O157) and Salmonella infections from 1996 to 2010. The relative rates of infection by year
Source: Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network, 2010.

full-text: (large)
CDC Vital Signs - Making Food Safer to Eat: "Making Food Safer to Eat
Reducing contamination from the farm to the table - Enviado mediante la barra Google"