A decrease in the number of reported foodborne illnesses cases....could that mean our food safety systems are improving.....not according to CSPI....they suggest that states are reporting less. Certainly there are differences in state-to-state variability, but one would probably think that variation would exist year-to-year. However, taking that variation into account, decreases or increases year-to-year across all the states should say something about overall trends.
Center for Science in the Public Interest
http://cspinet.org/new/201506081.html
States Vary Widely at Reporting Foodborne Illness Outbreaks to CDC
June 8, 2015
States vary widely in how well they detect, investigate, and report outbreaks of foodborne illness, according to a new 50-state analysis from the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest. And states are reporting fewer outbreaks to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. From 2009 to 2012, the average number of reported foodborne outbreaks decreased by about one-third compared to the six preceding years, according to the report, All Over the Map: A 10-Year Review of State Outbreak Reporting.
CSPI found widely different outbreak reporting rates even among adjacent states with similar populations. Florida, for instance, reported five times the number of outbreaks as Alabama when controlled for population, and Maryland reported four times the number of outbreaks as West Virginia. A high outbreak reporting rate actually can prevent illnesses, as it indicates state and local public health officials are looking for outbreaks and are more likely to identify contaminated foods or offending restaurants.
Showing posts with label statistics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label statistics. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 9, 2015
Thursday, September 1, 2011
New Poll: Many U.S. Adults Unaware of Key Food Safety Practices
From our informal polling, we know that most people do not use a thermometer when cooking burgers - either poultry, beef, or pork (also known as porkies). Unfortunately, there is a real risk of foodborne illness when ground meat is undercooked. This can be life threatening if the organism is STEC E.coli and product contaminated with that organism is consumed by a child.
Buy a thermometer. Stick it in your burger. Cook your burger to the correct temperature (Beef and Pork – 160F, Poultry – 165F)
New Poll: Many U.S. Adults Unaware of Key Food Safety Practices
http://www.meatami.com/ht/d/ReleaseDetails/i/72056/mo_person_id/00077412/mo_mailing_id/MO-02082
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Eight in 10 adults who cook hamburgers or poultry burgers do not use thermometer to determine doneness
Contact: Tom Super at tsuper@meatami.com or 202/587-4238
Washington, D.C. September 1, 2011 – Summer may be waning, but with Labor Day cookouts, NCAA college football tailgates and the NFL season right around the corner, September’s 17th annual National Food Safety Education Month is the perfect time to remind food preparers about proper procedures when cooking meat and poultry products.
A new poll commissioned by the American Meat Institute (AMI) and conducted by Harris Interactive found that while almost nine out of 10 U.S. adults (88 percent) cook hamburgers or poultry (chicken or turkey) burgers, only 19 percent of those who do use an instant read thermometer to determine that the burgers are safely cooked and ready to eat (i.e.,“doneness”). Approximately 73 percent of adults who cook hamburgers or poultry burgers incorrectly rely on sight to determine doneness and 57 percent incorrectly rely on cooking time.
Of concern: only 13 percent of adults aged 18-34 who cook hamburgers or poultry burgers, many of whom may prepare food for small children at home, use an instant read thermometer to determine doneness when cooking hamburgers or poultry burgers. Seventy-eight percent of this age group rely on sight, which is not an accurate indicator of doneness, to determine if the burger is cooked properly.
In terms of proper cooking temperatures, only one in five U.S. adults (20 percent) knows a hamburger should be cooked to 160 degree F to ensure it is safe to consume, while 41 percent mistakenly believe that hamburgers should be cooked to a temperature less than 160 degrees F, according to the poll.
Nearly half of U.S. adults (47 percent) believe that poultry burgers should be cooked to a temperature less than 165 degrees F. Only 13 percent know that a poultry burger should be cooked to 165 degree F to ensure it is safe to consume.
“Meat and poultry companies use many food safety strategies to make our products as safe as we can, and it is our responsibility to empower our customers with the information that they need to ensure that the products are safe when served,” said AMI Senior Vice President of Public Affairs Janet Riley. “Our poll reveals that a significant knowledge gap still exists about proper cooking temperatures and thermometer use. U.S. meat and poultry products are among the safest in the world, but like all raw agricultural products, they can contain bacteria, and that is why it is important to take time to remind consumers about safe handling and cooking practices.”
Riley urged consumers to follow the four basic food safety steps that are included on safe handling labels on meat and poultry products: clean, separate, cook and chill. Consumers should make sure that surfaces and hands are clean when preparing food, separate raw products from cooked products, cook the product to the proper temperature and keep the product properly chilled.
“While we recognize September as National Food Safety Education Month, food safety is a priority year-round,” Riley concluded. “By making a habit of cooking hamburgers to 160 degrees F and chicken or turkey burgers to 165 degrees F and using an instant read thermometer, consumers can feel confident that they will enjoy a safe and delicious eating experience every time.”
For more information and additional resources to safely prepare meat and poultry visit http://www.meatsafety.org/.
A new poll commissioned by the American Meat Institute (AMI) and conducted by Harris Interactive found that while almost nine out of 10 U.S. adults (88 percent) cook hamburgers or poultry (chicken or turkey) burgers, only 19 percent of those who do use an instant read thermometer to determine that the burgers are safely cooked and ready to eat (i.e.,“doneness”). Approximately 73 percent of adults who cook hamburgers or poultry burgers incorrectly rely on sight to determine doneness and 57 percent incorrectly rely on cooking time.
Of concern: only 13 percent of adults aged 18-34 who cook hamburgers or poultry burgers, many of whom may prepare food for small children at home, use an instant read thermometer to determine doneness when cooking hamburgers or poultry burgers. Seventy-eight percent of this age group rely on sight, which is not an accurate indicator of doneness, to determine if the burger is cooked properly.
In terms of proper cooking temperatures, only one in five U.S. adults (20 percent) knows a hamburger should be cooked to 160 degree F to ensure it is safe to consume, while 41 percent mistakenly believe that hamburgers should be cooked to a temperature less than 160 degrees F, according to the poll.
Nearly half of U.S. adults (47 percent) believe that poultry burgers should be cooked to a temperature less than 165 degrees F. Only 13 percent know that a poultry burger should be cooked to 165 degree F to ensure it is safe to consume.
“Meat and poultry companies use many food safety strategies to make our products as safe as we can, and it is our responsibility to empower our customers with the information that they need to ensure that the products are safe when served,” said AMI Senior Vice President of Public Affairs Janet Riley. “Our poll reveals that a significant knowledge gap still exists about proper cooking temperatures and thermometer use. U.S. meat and poultry products are among the safest in the world, but like all raw agricultural products, they can contain bacteria, and that is why it is important to take time to remind consumers about safe handling and cooking practices.”
Riley urged consumers to follow the four basic food safety steps that are included on safe handling labels on meat and poultry products: clean, separate, cook and chill. Consumers should make sure that surfaces and hands are clean when preparing food, separate raw products from cooked products, cook the product to the proper temperature and keep the product properly chilled.
“While we recognize September as National Food Safety Education Month, food safety is a priority year-round,” Riley concluded. “By making a habit of cooking hamburgers to 160 degrees F and chicken or turkey burgers to 165 degrees F and using an instant read thermometer, consumers can feel confident that they will enjoy a safe and delicious eating experience every time.”
For more information and additional resources to safely prepare meat and poultry visit http://www.meatsafety.org/.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
CDC Releases New Numbers for Foodborne Illness Cases Each Year
Finally, we can stop quoting the ole ‘76 million people get stick each year from foodborne illness, with 300, 000 hospitalizations, and 5,000 deaths’. Now it is 48 million sick, 128,000 hospitalizations, and 3,000 deaths. They claim the number is more accurate, which means the number we have been quoting for the last umpteen years was not accurate. I think most of us guessed that, but in conference after conference, news report after news report, that number was laid out there. All hail the new number, but think of the number of PowerPoint’s that will need to be changed.
CDC Reports 1 in 6 Get Sick from Foodborne Illnesses Each Year
New estimates more precise
About 48 million people (1 in 6 Americans) get sick, 128,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 die each year from foodborne diseases, according new estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The figures are the most accurate to date due to better data and methods used. The data are published Wednesday in two articles in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases.
The papers provide the most accurate picture yet of what foodborne pathogens are causing the most illness, as well as estimating the proportion of foodborne illness without a known cause. The reports are the first comprehensive estimates since 1999 and are CDC's first to estimate illnesses caused solely by foods eaten in the United States.
"We've made progress in better understanding the burden of foodborne illness and unfortunately, far too many people continue to get sick from the food they eat," said CDC Director Thomas Frieden, M.D, M.P.H. "These estimates provide valuable information to help CDC and its partners set priorities and further reduce illnesses from food."
CDC's new estimates are lower than in the 1999 report. The difference is largely the result of improvements in the quality and quantity of the data used and new methods used to estimate foodborne-disease. For example, it is now known that most norovirus is not spread by the foodborne route, which has reduced the estimate of foodborne norovirus from 9.2 to approximately 5.5 million cases per year. Because of data and method improvements, the 1999 and current estimates cannot be compared to measure trends.
CDC's FoodNet surveillance system data, which tracks trends among common foodborne pathogens, has documented a decrease of 20 percent in illnesses from key pathogens during the past 10 years. However, these FoodNet pathogens make up only a small proportion of the illnesses included in the new estimates.
Of the total estimate of 48 million illnesses annually, CDC estimates that 9.4 million illnesses are due to 31 known foodborne pathogens. The remaining 38 million illnesses result from unspecified agents, which include known agents without enough data to make specific estimates, agents not yet recognized as causing foodborne illness, and agents not yet discovered. In both the 1999 and current estimates, unspecified agents were responsible for roughly 80 percent of estimated illnesses.
"Foodborne illnesses and deaths are preventable, and as such, are unacceptable," said FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg, M.D. "We must, and can, do better by intensifying our efforts to implement measures that are prevention-oriented and science-based. We are moving down this path as quickly as possible under current authorities but eagerly await passage of new food safety legislation that would provide us with new and long overdue tools to further modernize our food safety program."
Among the additional findings for foodborne illness due to known pathogens:
· Salmonella was the leading cause of estimated hospitalizations and deaths, responsible for about 28 percent of deaths and 35 percent of hospitalizations due to known pathogens transmitted by food.
· About 90 percent of estimated illnesses, hospitalizations, and deaths were due to seven pathogens: Salmonella, norovirus, Campylobacter, Toxoplasma, E.coli O157, Listeria and Clostridium perfringens.
· Nearly 60 percent of estimated illnesses, but a much smaller proportion of severe illness, was caused by norovirus.
"People expect food to nourish them, not to harm them. So we need to intensify efforts to decrease the number of illnesses and deaths due to foodborne diseases," said Christopher Braden, M.D., director of CDC's Division of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases. "We now know more than ever what pathogens are causing the most harm, and we will continue our work to help protect people from these illnesses. Much that remains unknown about how and why people get sick and we are committed to learning more in the future."
CDC continues to encourage consumers to take an active role in preventing foodborne infection by following safe food-handling and preparation tips of separating meats and produce while preparing foods, cooking meat and poultry to the right temperatures, promptly chilling leftovers, and avoiding unpasteurized milk and cheese and raw oysters.
The full report is available online at http://www.cdc.gov/eid. For more detailed information on the estimates and methods, please visit http://www.cdc.gov/foodborneburden. To learn more about foodborne illness trends, visit the FoodNet site at http://www.cdc.gov/FoodNet/. To learn about how to prevent foodborne illness, visit http://www.foodsafety.gov.
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