The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released its 2014 annual report summarizing foodborne disease outbreaks in the United States. In total, the Agency reports 864 outbreaks, leading to 21 recalls of food products. The outbreaks affected 13,246, resulting in 712 hospitalizations and 21 deaths. Twenty-five of the reported outbreaks were multi-state outbreaks, causing 194 hospitalizations and 11 deaths, or 52 percent of all deaths attributed to foodborne illness outbreaks. A majority (65 percent) of the outbreaks could be attributed to restaurants, with sit-down dining being the most commonly reported locations.
Of the outbreaks reported, eleven were caused by Salmonella, ten by Shiga toxin-producing E. coli, three by listeria and one by norovirus. Food origins reported and suspected varied widely, from nut butters, to meat products, and produce. The CDC reported that the single food categories associated with the most outbreak illnesses, or those illness that could be attributed to one food product, were seeded vegetables (i.e. cucumbers or tomatoes), chicken, and dairy. Of the twenty-five multi-state outbreaks, the leading attributions for illness were ground beef, fruits, seeded vegetables, and row crops.
A link to the full 2014 Annual Report on Foodborne Disease Outbreaks may be found here.
