What is the Most Common Source of Food Poisoning in the United States of America?
According to salmonella lawyer Ron Simon, interviewed for this article, about one-in-six Americans will contract food poisoning this year alone. Simon notes that some of the victims will become sick for as little as a few days, while others will suffer catastrophic illness, including death. This is backed up by the CDC which admits that 48 million Americans get sick in an average year from food poisoning, and about 128 thousand of those require hospitalization. Of those, about 3000 die each year. According to Simon, who represents one of those who died in the very recent Boar’s Head deli meat Listeria outbreak, food poisoning is a serious concern and one public health experts and food producers need to pay attention to.
So the questions remain, what are the most serious pathogens and what food poses the most serious threat of food poisoning?
What is the most serious pathogen depends on whether one is discussing number of cases (that would be norovirus – accounting for 62% of all cases) or which one causes the most serious illnesses. Along with Norovirus, the bacteria salmonella infects about 1 million patrons each year, with nearly a third requiring hospitalization. It is most commonly from undercooked chicken or cross-contamination in a kitchen preparing chicken, though it can be in multiple other foods, like in one of the recent flour salmonella outbreaks, onion salmonella outbreaks, sushi salmonella outbreaks, fish salmonella outbreaks, peanut butter salmonella outbreaks, and cucumber salmonella outbreaks.
“But while these are serious, and in some cases can even be fatal, the most deadly bacteria include listeria, vibrio, and Shiga-toxin producing E. coli, or STEC” says Simon. “I have represented too many victims in serious injury and wrongful death listeria lawsuits, Vibrio lawsuits, and E. coli lawsuits.”
Vibrio is the most notorious killer, and hence often considered the most dangerous. It is often referred to as a “flesh-eating” bacteria. It is most often acquired by eating oysters. Infection with Vibrio can lead to very painful illness and quickly escalate to death if not properly treated.
Listeria also has a high fatality rate – in fact, in a 2011 outbreak, Ron Simon noted that he represented victims in a listeria lawsuit, including for a woman who died – just one of 33 who died in that cantaloupe outbreak. On top of that is also difficult to diagnose listeriosis since often a cerebral spinal fluid culture would be required. A CSF culture can be difficult to perform and is often only done after broad spectrum antibiotics are administered. Notably, Mr. Simon is currently representing a family who lost a loved one to the recent deli meat listeria outbreak. E. coli is also dangerous, and while most people survive, Mr. Simon recounted a number of the young people he has represented in E. coli lawsuits who were susceptible to hemolytic uremic syndrome, (HUS). In those cases, the victims suffered acute kidney injury (AKI) and were faced with the prospects of kidney transplants and ongoing kidney illness. In one of the most tragic of cases, in the San Diego County Fair E. coli Lawsuit, a young child was alleged to have died after attending a petting zoo.*
So WHERE do most people get food poisoning?
In a recent report by FoodReady, confirmed by the CDC**, about 50% of all food borne illnesses are related to eating at restaurants. The others? Some include things like backyard chickens, touching salamanders or other pets, but there are also the larger outbreaks linked to widely imported foods like vegetables with parasites (like the DelMonte Cyclospora lawsuits) or berries with hepatitis A virus (the Townsend Farms Hepatitis A outbreak and the recent Tropical Smoothie outbreak).
Some of the most notable outbreaks include: In 2015, 907 victims were identified in the Mexican cucumber salmonella outbreak, killing one. In 2013, it was a domestic out break from chicken – Foster Farms chicken sickened 634 in a national salmonella outbreak. In 2011, 136 got sick and one died in the Cargill ground turkey salmonella outbreak. In 2006, two e. coli outbreaks, the Dole Baby Spinach e. coli outbreak (killed 3, with 205 identified victims) and the Taco Bell outbreak that sickened at least 71. Then, of course, there was the infamous Jack-in-the-Box outbreak sickening about 100 and killing 4.
*Botulism is also very dangerous, and in 2015 home-canned potatoes killed on and sickened another 29
**The CDC uses its National Outbreak Reporting System (NORS) to track illnesses.
