2010 – Year of Food Poisoning

The Centers for Disease and Control Prevention released data yesterday regarding food poisoning in just 10 states. The number released is ridiculous and equates to about 15-percent of the population getting sick.  Salmonella is the leading cause of food poisoning cases.  They haven't become fewer and farther between, but instead, they have rose by 10-percent in the last few years.

In 2009, there were about 17,500 cases of food poisoning from salmonella were reported while there were 18,500 in 2008.  Last year, over 19,000 cases of illness from salmonella were detected, there were 4,200 hospitalizations and 68 deaths in those states.  "The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta estimates that 50 million Americans each year get sick from foodborne illnesses, including about ......................................................................................3,000 who die (Times Union)."

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It is believed that the current large outbreak of food poisoning is attributed to an unusually aggressive strain of E. coli -- a strain that has never effected residents of the U.S. before now.  There's also been a huge jump in illness due to a bacteria called vibrio.  Vibrio is associated with shellfish.  In 2010, 200 cases of vibrio were reported.

The Food & Drug Administration has taken action.  If you recall, new rules were put into place last summer to help reduce salmonella in eggs.  More regulation of meat also helped cut the number of E. coli cases in half.  Meanwhile, to help prevent illness from vibrio, flash-freezing and pasteurization of oysters could reduce a consumer's chance of becoming sick.

Have you ever had food poisoning?  If so, do you know what food made you sick?