A report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention details the foodborne illnesses that struck most often in 2018, reports CNN. Researchers identified campylobacter as the number one cause of bacterial foodborne illness since 2013. In 2018, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service detected campylobacter in 18 percent of chicken carcasses and 16 percent of chicken parts sampled.
Campylobacter was followed by salmonella, which has not declined in 10 years; E. coli; shigella; and vibrio, which had an incidence that rose 109 percent in 2018 compared to the three years prior. The report included laboratory-diagnosed infections caused by eight pathogens at 10 U.S. sites covering 15 percent of the population. In total, 25,606 illnesses, 5,893 hospitalizations, and 120 deaths were identified in 2018. Changes to testing might identify more cases, which would make trends hard to interpret, and large outbreaks might not indicate a sustained trend.
Additionally, the report notes that improved agricultural practices are needed to stop produce-related outbreaks. The Food and Drug Administration is implementing routine inspections of large produce farms and providing assistance to the produce industry to help outbreak investigations and prevent contamination. Full Story
Related: Retailers Listed in Pre-Cut Melon Outbreak; FDA Takes Action after Ice Cream Food Safety Investigation.
from Specialty Food News http://bit.ly/2Wag1Fo
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