Fresh produce an increasing source of Salmonella, group says
Salmonella infections in the US, according to an analysis of
food-poisoning outbreaks by a consumer lobby group.
The Centre for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) report serves as a warning sign for food processors using fruit and vegetables for the products.
Food safety has been a growing concern for consumers and regulatory agencies and the statistics could serve to widen those fears.
Last week a University of Minnesota study showed that antibiotics given to livestock can end up in vegetables and pose a health threat to consumers.
The Minnesota study examined tthe use of animal manure as a fertilizer for vegetable crops.
The new CSPI study indicates produce-related outbreaks tend to be larger than poultry-related outbreaks, and sicken more people, sometimes hundreds at a time, CSPI stated.
Fresh produce triggered 554 outbreaks, sickening 28,315 people. Of those 554 outbreaks, 111 were due to Salmonella. Although poultry has historically been responsible for far more Salmonellainfections, produce seems to be catching up, CSPI stated.
From 1990 to 2001 poultry accounted for 121 Salmonella outbreaks and produce accounted for 80. But in 2002 to 2003, produce accounted for 31 Salmonella outbreaks and poultry accounted for 29.
The figures were gathered from CSPI's alert database, which contains information on 4,500 infection outbreaks related to food between 1990 and 2003.
CSPI's database includes only outbreaks where both the food and the pathogen are identified, so its data represents only a fraction of the total burden of foodborne illnesses.
The group is also calling on the Food and Drug Administration to require growers to limit the use of manure to times and products where it poses no risk. And packers and shippers should markpackaging to ensure easy traceback when fruits and vegetables are implicated in an outbreak.
"Fresh fruits and vegetables are at the center of a healthy diet, so it's critical that steps are taken to improve their safety," CSPI food safety director Caroline Smith DeWaalstated.
Although produce outbreaks were responsible for the most illnesses,
The CSPI database indicates that seafood was responsible for 899 outbreaks during the study period, more than any other food. However seafood only accounted for about 9,312 illnesses.
Unsafe poultry products triggered 476 outbreaks involving 14,729 illnesses, while beef triggered 438 outbreaks involving 12,702 illnesses. Eggs caused 329 outbreaks of sickness, involving 10,847people.
The Centers for Disease Control estimates that 76 million Americans get sick and 5,000 die from foodborne hazards each year.
In recent years, Salmonella outbreaks have been traced back to lettuce, salads, melons, sprouts, tomatoes and other fruit- and vegetable-containing dishes. In 2004, there were three separateoutbreaks involving 561 Salmonella infections that were linked to contaminated Roma tomatoes.
From 2000 to 2002, Salmonella-contaminated cantaloupe imported from Mexico sickened 155 and killed two.
Salmonella isn't the only pathogen that ends up on produce. In 2003, green onions in salsa from a ChiChi's restaurant in Pennsylvania transmitted hepatitis A to 555 people, killing three.
A bagged salad mix given restaurant patrons in the San Diego area infected 50 people with E. coli during the same year.
CSPI has recommended the creation of a single food safety agency and an emphasis on improving on-farm practices to help curb foodborne illness.
