Now that Thanksgiving is right upon us, and the rest of the Holidays are around the corner – all of which have a feeding frenzy associated with them – a warning about food-borne illnesses is timely. My husband could quickly give you an example of a food-borne illness because he’s been upset with me ever since I told him to be careful about eating hamburger meat due to the recent outbreaks of E. Coli infection associated with that particular food.

So, why should you worry if you don’t eat hamburger? Because the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 76 million Americans get sick from food-borne illnesses each year. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg because not all food-borne illnesses are even reported to public authorities.

A recent study done by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), reported on October 9, 2009, found that even some of the healthiest foods can carry food-borne infections. The CSPI group analyzed information on food-borne illnesses from the most recent all the way back to 1990; the information was based on the CDC’s data.  The authors found that the most common organisms causing the illnesses included norovirus, and E. Coli and Salmonella bacteria.

What specific foods were most likely to carry an organism that caused a food-borne infection and illness? The authors found that leafy green vegetables were the food type that was responsible for the highest number of outbreaks, causing approximately 13,600 illnesses during the time period studied.

Here is a listing of the rest of the top ten foods responsible for food-borne illnesses during this period.

• Eggs, involved in 352 outbreaks and 11,163 reported cases of illness.
• Tuna, involved in 268 outbreaks and 2,341 reported cases of illness.
• Oysters, involved in 132 outbreaks and 3,409 reported cases of illness.
• Potatoes, involved in 108 outbreaks and 3,659 reported cases of illness.
• Cheese, involved in 83 outbreaks and 2,761 reported cases of illness.
• Ice cream, involved in 74 outbreaks and 2,594 reported cases of illness.
• Tomatoes, involved in 31 outbreaks and 3,292 reported cases of illness.
• Sprouts, involved in 31 outbreaks and 2,022 reported cases of illness.
• Berries, involved in 25 outbreaks and 3,397 reported cases of illness.

An important issue about the above listing of specific foods is that the CDC’s database cannot discriminate whether the specific food caused the illness, or whether it was other foods mixed with that food; for instance whether tomatoes alone caused an illness, or if tomatoes were in a salad, whether it was the other ingredients of the salad. The authors of the study also caution that since potatoes are almost always eaten cooked, it was probably a food eaten along with the potato that caused the illness.

Having said all that, the above list is pretty scary, right? Especially when you remember that this is an underestimate of the actual number of illnesses caused by food borne infections.

Is there anything you can do to prevent a food-borne infection from ruining your happy and healthy holidays? Absolutely. 

·        Always keep fresh (and frozen) food products cold.

·        Always be sure to thoroughly cook your food.

·        Always keep your food preparation area clean and sanitary.

·        Avoid eating raw eggs or using them in recipes, including ice cream.

·        Keep foods, like oysters, chilled. Avoid eating them raw.

·        If you do eat raw oysters or sushi, be aware that they can carry organisms that can cause illness.

·        Wash your hands frequently!  Janet Horn

NEXT MONTH (which begins tomorrow!) WE’LL RETURN TO OUR ALL-NEW AND UPDATED BLOGS – PLEASE STAY WITH US!