If you wondered why the FDA recently issued $17.5 million in grants to various state and local regulatory agencies, chalk it up to the sorry state of food safety in America, underscored in a recent Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) report on the 10 riskiest and pretty popular foods regulated by the agency.
Overall, these "top 10" harmful foods were responsible for more than 1,500 separate outbreaks, sickening nearly 50,000 Americans from 1990-2006. The range of problems associated with these foods was wide, from the minor (stomach cramps and diarrhea) to the gravely serious (kidney failure and death), with Salmonella being the leading cause of outbreaks in 33 percent of the cases connected to these 10 foods.
The top 5 offenders, according to CSPI (see the link below for the full and surprising list):
1. Leafy greens: 363 outbreaks and 13,568 incidents of illness.
2. Eggs: 352 outbreaks and 11,163 incidents.
3. Tuna: 268 outbreaks and 2,341 incidents.
4. Oysters: 132 outbreaks and 3,409 incidents.
5. Potatoes: 108 outbreaks and 3,659 incidents.
The CDC estimates 25 percent of all Americans get sick and 5,000 die every year due to foodborne illnesses.
CSPI Newsroom October 6, 2009
Washington Post October 6, 2009
CNNMoney.com October 6, 2009