CDC lists Multistate Foodborne Outbreaks for 2011

CDC has updated their Multistate Foodborne Outbreak listing for 2011 (http://www.cdc.gov/outbreaknet/outbreaks.html). This is a nice reference page for reviewing major food outbreaks that have occurred over the past 6 years. (An outbreak, as defined by CDC is “When two or more people get the same illness from the same contaminated food or drink”)

 A few things to note:

• This does not include recalled products – products recalled due to only the presence of pathogens (pathogens were detected in the product, but there were no illnesses reported). There have been many recalls that have occurred due to positive analysis for a pathogen, especially now with the Reportable Registry (http://www.fda.gov/food/foodsafety/foodsafetyprograms/rfr/default.htm). And so it follows, it does not include recalls for allergens – the major cause for companies to conduct recalls.
• This list does not include single state outbreaks – so this list is manly large companies that produce products. This does not mean that smaller establishments do not have issues.
• A few items were actually not food, but rather pets (frogs and chicks/ducklings in 2011, and water frogs and frozen rodents, which are used to feed slithering pets, in 2010). One item was dog food, which we will count as food – you dog food eaters know who you are.
• There appears to be an increase in the number of entries each year on this listing. I don’t suspect things are getting worse, but rather detection and reporting are getting better.
• Of the 41 entries over the 6 year period where a cause can be found (dropping the pet related entries and the laboratory entry), fresh ground meat had 6 entries, alfalfa sprouts had 5, leafy greens had 5, and cantaloupe had 3.
• Salmonella related outbreaks accounted for roughly 2/3 of the entries. This is due to the wide prevalence of Salmonella in the enviornment.
• FDA regulated product entries accounted for 25 entries, USDA for 11, and I suspect that two of the outbreaks were from facilities that had both USDA and FDA oversight.
• Roughly 27 are what one would consider ready to eat (no required consumer cooking step). 14 entries were products would be considered products that required cooking, that if done sufficiently by the consumer, would have prevented illness (reasons why vary - cookie dough traditionally eaten raw, pot pies – poor cooking instructions, raw meat – no thermometer use).
• As a consumer, I avoid alfalfa sprouts, use a thermometer to cook my ground meat, really wash my cantaloupes, pray my chopped lettuce was not harvested from a farm located next to a cow barn, cook my cookie dough to have crunchy cookies, and refuse to buy my kids turtles, frogs, and snakes (that have to fed frozen rodents.) I have also ceased from eating dog food.

 Multistate Foodborne Outbreaks

 http://www.cdc.gov/outbreaknet/outbreaks.html

When two or more people get the same illness from the same contaminated food or drink, the event is called a foodborne outbreak. Public health officials investigate outbreaks to control them, so more people do not get sick in the outbreak, and to learn how to prevent similar outbreaks from happening in the future.

CDC and partners ensure rapid and coordinated surveillance, detection, and response to multistate foodborne outbreaks.

Outbreaks by Year

 2011

 · Ground Beef - Salmonella Typhimurium

 · Romaine Lettuce - Escherichia coli O157:H7

 · Kosher Broiled Chicken Livers - Salmonella Heidelberg

 · Turkish Pine Nuts - Salmonella Enteritidis

 · Jensen Farms Cantaloupes - Listeria monocytogenes

 · Ground Turkey - Salmonella Heidelberg

 · Whole, Fresh Imported Papayas - Salmonella Agona

 · African Dwarf Frogs - Salmonella Typhimurium

 · Alfalfa and Spicy Sprouts – Salmonella Enteritidis

 · Travel to Germany - Shiga toxin-producing E. coli O104

 · Chicks and Ducklings - Salmonella Altona and Salmonella Johannesburg

 · Microbiology Laboratories - Salmonella Typhimurium

 · Turkey Burgers - Salmonella Hadar

 · Lebanon Bologna - Escherichia coli O157:H7

 · Del Monte Cantaloupe - Salmonella Panama

 · Hazelnuts - Escherichia coli O157:H7

2010

 · Alfalfa Sprouts - Salmonella I 4,[5],12:i:-

 · Shell Eggs - Salmonella Enteritidis

 · Cheese - Escherichia coli O157:H7

 · Cheesy Chicken Rice Frozen Entrée - Salmonella Chester

 · Frozen Mamey Fruit Pulp - Salmonella Typhi (Typhoid Fever)

 · Restaurant Chain A - Salmonella Hartford and Salmonella Baildon

 · Frozen Rodents - Salmonella I 4,[5],12:i:-

 · Alfalfa Sprouts - Salmonella Newport

 · Shredded Romaine Lettuce from a Single Processing Facility - Escherichia coli O145

 · Red and Black Pepper/Italian-Style Meats - Salmonella Montevideo

 · Water Frogs - Salmonella Typhimurium

 · Beef from National Steak and Poultry - Escherichia coli O157:H7

2009

 · Beef from Fairbank Farms - Escherichia coli O157:H7

 · Beef from JBS Swift Beef Company - Escherichia coli O157:H7

 · Prepackaged Cookie Dough - Escherichia coli O157:H7

 · Alfalfa Sprouts - Salmonella Saintpaul

 · Peanut Butter - Salmonella Typhimurium

 · Pistachios - Salmonella (multiple types)

2008

 · Raw Produce - Salmonella Saintpaul

 · Beef from Kroger/Nebraska Ltd - Escherichia coli O157:H7

 · Malt-O-Meal Rice/Wheat Cereals - Salmonella Agona

 · Cantaloupes - Salmonella Litchfield

2007

 · Totino's/Jeno's Pizza - Escherichia coli O157:H7

 · Banquet Pot Pies - Salmonella I 4,[5],12:i:-

 · Topp's Ground Beef Patties - Escherichia coli O157:H7

 · Dry Pet Food - Salmonella Schwarzengrund

 · Veggie Booty - Salmonella Wandsworth

 · Peanut Butter - Salmonella Tennessee

2006

 · Taco Bell - Escherichia coli O157:H7

 · Tomatoes - Salmonella Typhimurium

 · Fresh Spinach - Escherichia coli O157:H7

 Outbreaks by Pathogen

Escherichia coli (E. coli)

 · Romaine Lettuce - Escherichia coli O157:H7

 · Travel to Germany - Shiga toxin-producing E. coli O104, 2011

 · Lebanon Bologna - E. coli O157:H7, 2011

 · Hazelnuts - Escherichia coli O157:H7, 2011

 · Cheese - Escherichia coli O157:H7, 2010

 · Shredded Romaine Lettuce from a Single Processing Facility - Escherichia coli O145, 2010

 · Beef from National Steak and Poultry - Escherichia coli O157:H7, 2010

 · Beef from Fairbank Farms - Escherichia coli O157:H7, 2009

 · Beef from JBS Swift Beef Company - Escherichia coli O157:H7, 2009

 · Prepackaged Cookie Dough - Escherichia coli O157:H7, 2009

 · Beef from Kroger/Nebraska Ltd - Escherichia coli O157:H7, 2008

 · Totino's/Jeno's Pizza - Escherichia coli O157:H7, 2007

 · Topp's Ground Beef Patties - Escherichia coli O157:H7, 2007

 · Taco Bell - Escherichia coli O157:H7, 2006

 · Fresh Spinach - Escherichia coli O157:H7, 2006

Listeria

 · Jensen Farms Cantaloupes - Listeria monocytogenes

Salmonella

 · Ground Beef - Salmonella Typhimurium

 · Kosher Broiled Chicken Livers - Salmonella Heidelberg

 · Turkish Pine Nuts - Salmonella Enteritidis

 · Ground Turkey - Salmonella Heidelberg

 · Whole, Fresh Imported Papayas - Salmonella Agona

 · African Dwarf Frogs - Salmonella Typhimurium

 · Alfalfa and Spicy Sprouts - Salmonella Enteritidis

 · Chicks and Ducklings - Salmonella Altona and Salmonella Johannesburg

 · Microbiology Laboratories - Salmonella Typhimurium

 · Turkey Burgers - Salmonella Hadar

 · Del Monte Cantaloupe - Salmonella Panama

 · Alfalfa Sprouts - Salmonella I 4,[5],12:i:-

 · Shell Eggs - Salmonella Enteritidis, 2010

 · Cheesy Chicken Rice Frozen Entrée - Salmonella Chester, 2010

 · Frozen Mamey Fruit Pulp - Salmonella Typhi (Typhoid Fever), 2010

 · Restaurant Chain A - Salmonella Hartford and Salmonella Baildon, 2010

 · Frozen Rodents - Salmonella I 4,[5],12:i:-, 2010

 · Alfalfa Sprouts - Salmonella Newport, 2010

 · Red and Black Pepper/Italian-Style Meats - Salmonella Montevideo, 2010

 · Water Frogs - Salmonella Typhimurium, 2009 – 2010

 · Alfalfa Sprouts - Salmonella Saintpaul, 2009

 · Pistachios - Salmonella (multiple types), 2009

 · Peanut Butter - Salmonella Typhimurium, 2008 – 2009

 · Raw Produce - Salmonella Saintpaul, 2008

 · Malt-O-Meal Rice/Wheat Cereals - Salmonella Agona, 2008

 · Cantaloupes - Salmonella Litchfield, 2008

 · Banquet Pot Pies - Salmonella I 4,[5],12:i:-, 2007

 · Dry Pet Food - Salmonella Schwarzengrund, 2007

 · Veggie Booty - Salmonella Wandsworth, 2007

 · Peanut Butter - Salmonella Tennessee, 2007

 · Tomatoes - Salmonella Typhimurium , 2006