CDC finds poultry big poisoning problem

William Atkins
Sunday, 15 August 2010 22:47

Science - Health

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that chicken, turkey, and other poultry account for 17% of all food-borne illnesses in 2007'”the number one food poisoning problem in the United States. We need to handle such foods better and make sure they are cooked properly!

 

The CDC report 'Surveillance for Foodborne Disease Outbreaks --- United States, 2007' appears in the weekly issue of the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) (August 13, 2010 / 59(31);973-979).

In all, the CDC found that food-borne diseases caused about 76 million illnesses in 2007 within the United States. In addition, 1,097 major outbreaks occurred in that year.

The number one cause of food-borne illnesses in 2007 was poultry, such as chicken and turkey. Poultry accounted for 17% of all food-borne illnesses in that year.

Only one percentage point behind was beef at 16%. At third came leafy vegetables at 14%.

The CDC also stated within its report that salmonella and other bacteria caused about 50% of the illnesses, while viruses caused about 40%, mushroom toxin or other chemical agents were the cause of about 7%, and parasites caused about 1%.

In 2007, the 1,097 major outbreaks caused 21,244 illnesses and 18 deaths. Of these total outbreaks, 497 were caused by one agent.

Page two continues with further information on the food-borne illness report by the CDC.