List of United States foodborne illness outbreaks

Foodborne illness outbreaks in the United States. Every year 5,000 deaths, 325,000 hospitalizations and 76 million illnesses are caused by foodborne illnesses within the US. ^[1] Illness outbreaks lead to food recalls.

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2007

• On December 27, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health warned not to drink milk or milk related products from Whittier Farms in Shrewsbury, MA due to a listeria bacteria contamination^[2].
• On October 11, food manufacturer ConAgra asked stores to pull its Banquet and generic brand chicken and turkey pot pies due to 152 cases of salmonella poisoning in 31 states being linked to the consumption of ConAgra pot pies, with 20 people hospitalized. By October 12, a full recall was announced, affecting all varieties of frozen pot pies sold under the brands Banquet, Albertson’s, Food Lion, Great Value, Hill Country Fare, Kirkwood, Kroger, Meijer, and Western Family. The recalled pot pies included all varieties in 7-oz. single-serving packages bearing the number P-9 or “Est. 1059” printed on the side of the package. ^[3]
• E. coli O157:H7 in ground beef from the Topps Meat Company in Elizabeth, New Jersey. As of 2007, it is the second-largest beef recall in United States history. ^{[4] [5]}
• Salmonella in Metz Fresh, California spinach. Recalled 8,000 cartons of fresh spinach. No reports of any illness.^[6]
• Botulism from cans of Castleberry's, Austex and Kroger brands of chili sauce. In total, over 25 different brands of a variety of products were recalled by Castleberry Foods. ^[7] The best by dates for the affected products range from April 30, 2009, through May 22, 2009. The contamination by the toxin is extremely rare for commercially canned products. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention medical epidemiologist Dr. Michael Lynch said the last such U.S. case dates to the 1970s. The roughly 25 cases reported each year were mainly from home canned foods. ^{[8] [5]}
• Salmonella from Peter Pan and Great Value Peanut Butter in 44 States. By March 7, 2007, the outbreak had grown to 425 cases in 44 states since its start in August of 2006. The CDC said it is believed to be the first salmonella outbreak associated with peanut butter in United States history.^[9]

2006

• E. coli O157:H7 from Taco Bell in South Plainfield, New Jersey and Long Island. They suffered from hemolytic uremic syndrome^[10] 39 people in central New Jersey and on Long Island were sickened. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at first believed the E. coli O157:H7 to be in the green onions. The FDA on December 13, 2006 said it could not confirm that scallions were the cause of the problem, as previously suspected, and that it was not ruling out any food as a possible culprit. It was later suspected that infected lettuce was the cause.^[11] Even though the culprit turned out to be a produce other than green onions, Taco Bell, in a public relations disaster, fingered a California-based green onion supplier as the source of the E. Coli and then eliminated all green onions from its menu (while still serving lettuce). As a result, a lawsuit is currently pending against Taco Bell.
• 2006 North American E. coli outbreak. E. coli O157:H7 in bagged spinach packaged by Natural Selection Foods and most likely supplied by Earthbound Farm in San Juan Bautista. 3 dead, and 198 people reported sickened by the outbreak across 25 US States^[12], and 1 person reported sickened by the outbreak in Ontario^[13].

2003

• Hepatitis A on green onions in Pennsylvania.^[14]

2002

• E. coli O157:H7 in ground beef from ConAgra. 19 people became ill in California, Colorado, Michigan, South Dakota, Washington and Wyoming as a result of eating tainted hamburger from a ConAgra plant in Greeley, Colorado. The company recalled over 19 million pounds of ground beef it had manufactured, in the third largest recall in history. ^[15]
• Listeria in processed chicken from Pilgrim's Pride. The company recalled over 27 million pounds of poultry products it had manufactured, in the largest recall in history. The outbreak killed 7 people, sickened 46, and caused 3 miscarriages. ^[16]

2001

• Salmonella in unpasteurized orange juice from Sun Orchard in Arizona. They imported orange juice from Mexico in a tanker cooled with contaminated ice. ^[17]

2000

• Salmonella in bean sprouts from Pacific Coast Sprout Farms. They bought dry seeds in China and Australia and when germinated, the sprouts caused an outbreak from Oregon to Massachusetts. At least 67 people became ill, and 17 were hospitalized. ^[18]

1997

• Hepatitis A on frozen strawberries from Andrew & Williamson Sales Co. of San Diego, California. The strawberries were grown in Baja California, Mexico and processed by A&W. Thousands of students from Arizona, California, Georgia, Iowa, Michigan, and Tennessee may have been exposed to the virus from eating strawberries in school lunches. Over 2.6 million pounds of strawberries were recalled. ^[19]
• 1997 E. coli O157:H7 in ground beef from Hudson Foods Company of Rogers, Arkansas. Burger King was the largest client. The plant was in Columbus, Nebraska. The company recalled over 25 million pounds of ground beef it had manufactured, in the second largest recall in history.

1996

• E. coli O157:H7 in unpasteurized apple juice from Odwalla.^[20]

1994

• Salmonella in ice cream from Schwan's Sales Enterprises of Marshall, Minnesota. The outbreak sickened more than 3,000 people in as many as 41 states. The contamination occurred when raw, unpasteurized eggs were hauled in a tanker truck that later carried pasteurized ice cream to the Schwan's plant. The ice cream premix wasn't pasteurized again after delivery to the plant. ^[21]

1993

• E. coli O157:H7 in undercooked hamburgers from Jack in the Box. Four people died and hundreds of others became sick in the Seattle area and other parts of the Pacific Northwest.

1992

• Botulism in whitefish in New Jersey. Four members of a Fort Lee family have been stricken with botulism after eating fish bought in Jersey City. ^[22]

1985

• Listeria in cheese in Southern California. The largest number of food poisoning deaths recorded in recent U.S. history is traced to Mexican-style soft cheese. Of the 142 reported cases, there were 47 deaths, including 19 stillbirths and 10 infant deaths. ^[23]
• Salmonella in milk from a suburban Chicago dairy causes 16,284 confirmed, and possibly as many as 200,000 cases of food poisoning in six Midwest states. The tainted milk was responsible for two deaths and many have been related to 12 others. ^[24]
• Botulism at two White Spot restaurants in Vancouver, British Columbia in two separate incidents when chopped garlic stored in soybean oil caused outbreaks. CDC

1983

• Botulism (Type A Clostridium Botulinum) in Peoria, Illinois. 28 persons were hospitalized, and 20 patients were treated with an antitoxin. 12 patients required ventilatory support and 1 death resulted. The source was sauteed onions made from fresh raw onions served on a patty melt sandwich. The sandwiches were served at the Skewer Inn Restaurant located inside Northwoods Mall.^[25]

1974

• Salmonella in unpasteurized apple cider caused 200 illnesses in New Jersey. ^[26]

1971

• Botulism in vichyssoise manufactured by Bon Vivant Soup Company of Newark, New Jersey. On July 2, 1971 FDA released a public warning after learning that a New York man had died and his wife had become seriously ill due to botulism after eating a can of Bon Vivant vichyssoise soup. The company commenced a recall of the 6,444 cans of vichyssoise soup made in the same batch as the can known to be contaminated. The FDA soon discovered that the company’s processing practices raised questions not only about the lots of the vichyssoise, but also about all other products packed by the company. The effectiveness check of the recall had revealed a number of swollen or otherwise suspect cans among Bon Vivant’s other products, so FDA extended the recall to include all Bon Vivant products. The FDA shut down the company’s Newark, New Jersey plant on July 7, 1971. Although only five cans of Bon Vivant soup were found to be contaminated with the botulin toxin, all in the initial batch of vichyssoise recalled and part of the first 324 cans tested. The ordeal destroyed public confidence in the company’s products and the Bon Vivant name. Bon Vivant filed for bankruptcy within a month of the announcement of the recall. ^{[27] [5]}

See also

• 1984 Rajneeshee bioterror attack
• 2007 pet food recalls
• Eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome
• List of foodborne illness outbreaks
• Minamata disease

References