Food Poison Journal - Food poisoning outbreaks and litigation: surveillance and analysis

The Chicago Sun-Times reports that more people get sick every year from tainted produce than from seafood, poultry, beef or eggs, a new report by the Center for Science in the Public Interest has found.

Seafood still accounts for the most number of outbreaks of food-borne illness, but produce-related outbreaks sicken the most people.

Between 1990 and 2003, produce was behind 554 outbreaks and 28,315 illnesses, while seafood caused 899 outbreaks and 9,312 illnesses, the report found.

Susan Heavey of Reuters reports that contaminated fruits and vegetables are causing more food-borne illness among Americans than raw chicken or eggs, consumer advocates said a in report released on Monday.

Common sources of food illnesses include various bacteria such as salmonella and E.coli that can infect humans and animals then make their way into manure used to fertilize plants. The practice of using manure fertilizer is more common in Latin America, which has become a growing source of fresh produce for the United States.

"Although poultry has historically been responsible for far more Salmonella infections, in the most recent years ... produce seems to be catching up," the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) said, calling for tougher federal food safety standards.

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports that thousands of Pennsylvania restaurants have been licensed in recent years without the required annual inspections for sanitation and health, according to a new state audit prompted by a deadly outbreak of hepatitis A at a Beaver County restaurant in 2003.

The state's Department of Agriculture is responsible for overseeing restaurant sanitation in all but six of the state's 67 counties. The audit found the department renewed the licenses of about 4,000 of more than 17,000 restaurants, bars and retail food purveyors even though they had not been inspected for at least two years.

In Allegheny County, the county health department is responsible for restaurant inspections. All restaurants in the county are inspected at least once a year, and no food distributor is licensed without an inspection, a county official said Thursday. Allegheny County was not included in the audit.

Per an FSIS News Release, Agriculture Under Secretary for Food Safety Dr. Richard Raymond today discussed important tips for preventing foodborne illness during the holidays with volunteers from the Capital Area Food Bank, the largest public nonprofit hunger and nutrition education resource in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Dr. Raymond was joined by noted Washington Chef Terrell Danley.

"I encourage all Americans to join me in making food safety the most important ingredient in the kitchen this Thanksgiving," said Dr. Raymond. "Foodborne illness is very serious but easily prevented if foods are handled, prepared and cooked properly."

Designed to help raise awareness of the dangers associated with foodborne illness, the event featured demonstrations of safe food handling, preparation and cooking techniques that can help reduce the risk of foodborne illness.

To avoid the risk of becoming ill from contaminated food this holiday season, state health officials Wednesday encouraged Coloradans to pay special attention to the handling and preparation of foods.

Jeff Lawrence, the food safety program manager for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment's Consumer Protection Division, said, "If you improperly cool foods, such as, thawing your turkey on the counter at room temperature instead of in the refrigerator. Or, if you prepare ready- to-eat foods with contaminated utensils and don't wash your hands frequently while handling food, you increase the chance of contracting a foodborne illness."

Lawrence said that improper cooking temperatures also may increase the risk of foodborne illness.