Each year, about 76 million people in the United States become ill from the food they eat, and about 5,000 of them die, and World – Wide that number sours to 862 million people become sick, and about 2 million of then die from the sickness.
Harmful bacteria are the most common cause of food-borne illnesses, with symptoms ranging from upset stomach to fever and severe vomiting. Food can become contaminated at any phase of the production and preparation process, from the farm to slaughterhouse to the grocery store or in the restaurant or home.
Beef and poultry are the most frequent sources of food-borne illness, but a number of other foods also pose a risk. Now, here is the top 10 list of common foods responsible for a large number of outbreaks of food-borne illnesses. The top 10 foods account for 1,500 separate outbreaks accounting for about 50,000 cases of food poisoning, some of which ended in long-term disability and death.
What is needed is a globalized food system, without the archaic food safety laws, and the rise of large-scale production and processing have combined to create a perfect storm of unsafe food. Unfortunately, the hazards now come from all areas of the food supply: not only high-risk products, like meat and dairy, but also the must-eat components of a healthy diet, like fruits and vegetables.
Here are the top three riskiest foods on the list:
1. Leafy greens. Responsible for 24 percent of the non-meat outbreaks listed, salads and other greens become contaminated by contact with animals, contaminated water, poor handling practices and even contaminated washing equipment.
2. Eggs. Most egg outbreaks are because of salmonella poisoning. Although external contamination of the egg can occur from poor handling practices, more often the contamination happens inside the hen, before the shell is even formed. Half of all cases of egg-related illness are in restaurants. Catered events and prisons also reported large outbreaks.
3. Tuna. Fresh fish can decay soon after being caught, leading to scombroid poisoning caused by a poison called scombrotoxin. Symptoms include skin flushing, headaches, cramps, diarrhea and loss of vision.
The remaining foods on the list are:
4. Oysters.
5. Potatoes.
6. Cheese.
7. Ice cream.
8. Tomatoes.
9. Sprouts, and
10. Berries.
Always be safe, for our food should be clean, and in doing so makes life more enjoyable – bird.
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