The Top 10 Foodborne Illness Outbreaks in the US
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The recent E. coli 0104:H4 outbreak of gastroenteritis in Europe that sickened thousands and killed over 20 people was one of the largest foodborne disease outbreaks in the world (for the latest updates check out this article). This prompted my colleagues over at Onlinecertificateprograms.org to post an article entitled “10 Worst Food Contamination Outbreaks” that outlines the most serious foodborne illness to afflict the US.
Some of you may remember some of the more highly publicized ones including the “Jack in the Box” and “Sizzler” E. coli outbreaks in 1993 and 2000 respectively. While E. coli is still on everyone’s mind, the other usual suspects including Salmonella, Listeria and botulism are also featured!
Here is the list!
- Washington Packing Corporation, Botulism (1963): After two women died from botulism due to eating a bad can of A&P tuna packed by the Washington Packing Corporation, health authorities began investigating the company's foods, eventually discovering that the bad tuna had been shipped and stocked in major population centers throughout the Midwest. Wary consumers immediately stopped purchasing tuna, causing the then $277 million industry to suffer a 35% decrease in sales. The families of the two women were paid $226,500 by Washington, which was shut down after the incident.
- Skewer Inn Restaurant, Botulism (1983): Botulism struck again 20 years after Washington, resulting in one death. The oversight occurred at Peoria, Illinois' Skewer Inn, a popular restaurant located in the constantly-busy Northwoods Mall. Each victim ate beef patty-melts containing contaminated onions, later experiencing symptoms such as blurred vision, slurred speech, trouble breathing and paralysis. Overall, 28 people were hospitalized, 12 of whom required ventilatory support for varying periods of time.
- Jalisco Cheese, Listeria (1985): The deadliest food contamination outbreak in US history was caused by listeria, a bacteria found in sewage, soil, stream water and plants that manifests through fever, aches and diarrhea. Many of the 142 Southern Californians who fell ill from Jalisco's Mexican-style soft cheese suffered dire consequences — 48 died including 19 stillbirths and 10 infants. When an investigation was completed, the bacteria were traced back to poorly pasteurized milk used to make the cheese at an Artesia plant.
- Hillfarm Dairy, Salmonella (1985): Consumers would've been best-advised to avoid dairy products altogether in 1985. The Hillfarm Dairy debacle wasn't as severe as the Jalisco debacle, but it was far more widespread, as 16,284 cases of food poisoning due to salmonella were confirmed and possibly 200,000 cases altogether existed in the Midwest. Two deaths resulted, and as many as 12 may have occurred due to two batches of tainted milk produced in Melrose Park, Ill.
- Jack in the Box, E. coli (1993): Highly publicized and nearly catastrophic for Jack in the Box, the 1993 E. coli outbreak in the Pacific Northwest could've been prevented if the fast food chain had selected better meat, or at least cooked the contaminated meat at the right temperature. According to reports at the time, the patties eaten by the victims contained fecal matter and weren't cooked at 155 degrees Fahrenheit as mandated by Washington state law. Four children died and more than 700 others became sick, prompting the USDA to enforce stricter regulations, and Jack in the Box to overhaul its food safety procedures.
- Sizzler, E. coli (2000): One of the nation's largest steakhouse franchises experienced a crisis in 2000 when an E. coli O157:H7 outbreak in Milwaukee, Wis., originating from two restaurants in the area, sickened 65 people and killed a three-year-old girl. Health officials discovered that raw meat shipped from the Excel meat packing facility in Colorado came into contact with food eaten by the victims. According to Sizzler, it required all of its restaurants to cook beef entrees at the 160-degree temperature recommended by the US Food and Drug Administration.
- Pilgrim's Pride, Listeria (2002): At the time, it spurred the largest meat recall in US history. The listeria outbreak of fall 2002 ended with 46 illnesses, three miscarriages and the deaths of seven people, causing Pilgrim's Pride, then the second-largest poultry company in the US, to suspend operations at its Franconia, Pa. plant. From there, products were shipped to grocery stores, food service institutions and restaurants around the country, specifically affecting Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
- Chi-Chi's restaurant, Hepatitis A (2003): Typically a problem suffered by residents of developing countries where personal hygiene standards are poor, a hepatitis A outbreak is a problem most Americans don't worry about facing. Thanks to a batch of green onions used in food at Chi-Chi's Mexican restaurant in Beaver, Pa., more than 660 people fell ill and four people died in the nation's worst outbreak of the infectious disease. Almost all of the victims contracted it by eating mild salsa and cheese dip, which contained raw onions that were traced to Mexico.
- Natural Selection Foods, E. coli (2006): Veggie eaters across America halted their consumption of spinach in late 2006, as reports surfaced that certain helpings were contaminated with E. coli O157:H7. In early fall, 199 people were infected in 26 states — 31 of whom suffered kidney failure — and three people died. At fault was a farm in San Benito County, Calif., where CDC investigators suspected irrigation that was possibly contaminated from cattle feces, originating from nearby Paicines Ranch, came into contact with spinach fields.
- Peppers and Tomatoes, Salmonellosis (2008): Jalapeno peppers, serrano peppers and tomatoes contributed to the 2008 United States salmonellosis outbreak, which proved difficult for the CDC to trace. Ultimately, investigators discovered the strain in irrigation water and serrano peppers originating from a packing facility in Nuevo Leon, Mexico and grower in Tamaulipas, Mexico. It infected 1,442 people in 42 states, with the most incidences occurring in Texas (384). At least one death was attributed to the outbreak.
Until next time...
Good Luck and Good Eating!!!!!!!!
As many of you know, I am a big 
Tainted pistachio nuts are the culprit for this week’s Salmonella outbreak. Fortunately, Kraft Foods’ quality unit was doing its job and was able to alert consumers about the problem before the outbreak reached epidemic proportions. At present, there are only two suspected cases of Salmonella gastroenteritis that may be linked to tainted pistachios. The contamination has been traced back to a California company which, according to reports, is the second leading producer of pistachios in the US.
eak is identified federal and local health officials in both states have recommended that infants, the elderly and anyone with an impaired immune system avoid eating Roma and red round tomatoes that are not grown at home or sold attached to the vine.” So far, 40 confirmed cases, with patients ranging in age from 3 to 82, have been reported in New Mexico and Texas since April. To date, 17 people have been hospitalized, but no deaths have been reported.