Foods associated with foodborne illness

A foodborne is considered to be any illness associated with or in which the causative agent is obtained by the ingestion of food.

Food poisoning is considered to be an illness caused by the consumption of food containing microbial toxins or chemicals poisons.

In recent years, the variety of foods associated with foodborne illness has increased.

While the food supply in the United States is one of the safest in the world, the CDC estimated that 76 million people get sock, more than 300,000 are hospitalized and 5,000 Americans die each year from foodborne illnesses.

Raw foods of animal origin are the most likely to be contaminated; there are, raw meat and poultry, raw eggs, unpasteurized milk, and raw shellfish. Because filter-feeding shellfish strain microbes from the sea over many months, they are particularly likely to be contaminated if there are any pathogens in the seawater.

Animal products such as meat, poultry, seafood, dairy products and eggs are the foods most likely to cause outbreaks of human illness in the United States.

A single hamburger may contain meat from hundreds of animals. A single restaurant omelet may contain eggs from hundreds of chickens. A glass of raw milk may contain milk from hundreds of cows. A broiler chicken carcass can be exposed to the drippings and juices of many thousands of other birds that went through the same cold water tank after slaughter.

It was estimated that meat and poultry related foodborne illness accounted for 27% of total food related cases and outbreaks between 1990 and 2003.

Fruits and vegetables consumed raw are a particular concern. Washing can decrease but not eliminate contamination, so the consumers can do little to protect themselves.

Fresh manure used to fertilize vegetables can also contaminate them. Alfalfa sprouts and other raw sprouts pose a particular challenge, as the conditions under which they are sprouted are ideal for growing microbes as well as sprouts, and because they are eaten without further cooking.

Epidemiological studies found that there are many kinds of potential error during food production, distribution or preparation that allows microbial pathogens to contaminate food. This includes:
*The use of contaminated raw food
*Cross contamination of prepared food by contaminated raw food
*Poor personal hygiene by infected food handlers
*Inadequate cleaning of equipment
*Inadequate cooling or reheating
*Improper holding temperatures
*Cooling food too slowly after heating
*Eating food too long after preparation

To provide protection against foodborne illness, it is necessary to have up-to-date knowledge of production, harvesting and storage techniques to accurately evaluate the quality and safety of raw material.
Foods associated with foodborne illness