According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), foodborne disease in the U.S. affects an estimated 76 million persons, causes 325,000 hospitalizations and is responsible for approximately 5,000 deaths per year.
Foodborne disease may be caused by various pathogens, such as:
Illness severity may range from no signs or symptoms of illness (asymptomatic), to mild illness to severe illness requiring hospitalization or causing death.
A number of risk factors exist that often contribute to the spread of foodborne disease, such as:
The Virginia Department of Health maintains several roles in attempting to control for and prevent the occurrence of foodborne diseases, including:
Raw foods of animal origin are the most likely to be contaminated; that is, raw meat and poultry, raw eggs, unpasteurized milk, and raw shellfish. Fruits and vegetables consumed raw are also a particular concern. Washing can decrease but not eliminate contamination. Unpasteurized fruit juice can be contaminated if there are pathogens in or on the fruit that is used to make it.
A few simple precautions can reduce the risk of foodborne diseases:
COOK meat, poultry and eggs thoroughly. Using a thermometer to measure the internal temperature of meat is a good way to be sure that it is cooked sufficiently to kill bacteria. For example, ground beef should be cooked to an internal temperature of 160o F. Eggs should be cooked until the yolk is firm.
SEPARATE: Don't cross-contaminate one food with another. Avoid cross-contaminating foods by washing hands, utensils, and cutting boards after they have been in contact with raw meat or poultry and before they touch another food. Put cooked meat on a clean platter, rather back on one that held the raw meat.
CHILL: Refrigerate leftovers promptly. Bacteria can grow quickly at room temperature, so refrigerate leftover foods if they are not going to be eaten within 4 hours. Large volumes of food will cool more quickly if they are divided into several shallow containers for refrigeration.
CLEAN: Wash produce. Rinse fresh fruits and vegetables in running tap water to remove visible dirt and grime. Remove and discard the outermost leaves of a head of lettuce or cabbage. Because bacteria can grow well on the cut surface of fruit or vegetable, be careful not to contaminate these foods while slicing them up on the cutting board, and avoid leaving cut produce at room temperature for many hours. Don't be a source of foodborne illness yourself. Wash your hands with soap and water before preparing food. Avoid preparing food for others if you yourself have a diarrheal illness. Changing a baby's diaper while preparing food is a bad idea that can easily spread illness.
REPORT: Report suspected foodborne illnesses to your local health department. The local public health department is an important part of the food safety system. Often calls from concerned citizens are how outbreaks are first detected. If a public health official contacts you to find our more about an illness you had, your cooperation is important. In public health investigations, it can be as important to talk to healthy people as to ill people. Your cooperation may be needed even if you are not ill.
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