The results of a new study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention just published in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report have corrected a long held misconception of the number of fatalities associated with foodborne illnesses. Most news media typically report that there are thousands of foodborne-related deaths annually, yet the latest statistics from 2008 put the number at just 22. This doesn t mean that foodborne illness shouldn t be taken seriously, however; these unpleasant contaminations still result in over 1,000 hospitalizations and over 23,000 illnesses each year. Beef, poultry, and finfish were the food culprits associated with the largest number of outbreaks over the past decade, while norovirus (otherwise known as the stomach flu) remained the leading cause of illness and outbreaks in 2008.
In addition to correcting the common misperception that deaths related to foodborne illnesses are high, there was other good news in the report. Compared to the period between 2003 and 2007, the number of outbreaks decreased by 10 percent in 2008, while the incidence of outbreak-related illnesses dropped by 5 percent.
ACSH's Dr. Gilbert Ross observes that the declining number of foodborne illnesses occurred prior to the introduction of the Food Safety Modernization Act, which was signed into law earlier this year and grants the FDA the authority to institute food recalls and implement other mandates in order to reduce disease outbreaks. If this act achieves what it aspires to do, he notes, then the number of illnesses, outbreaks, and hospitalizations will only continue to decrease.