Foodborne Pathogens Remain a Serious Threat to Public Health

Learning from food contamination events and foodborne illness outbreaks helps uncover weaknesses in food safety systems and is a foundational property of a truly prevention-based system. Foodborne illness investigation methods continue to evolve to keep pace with changing hazards, technologies, and food production, processing, and distribution systems in an increasingly globalized food supply.

Contaminated meat and poultry products are responsible for an estimated 2 million illnesses in the United States each year, and amount to more than 40 percent of all bacterial foodborne diseases. The annual cost of illnesses—for instance, direct medical costs, lost income, and productivity—attributable to consumption of these foods has been estimated at about $2.5 billion for poultry, $1.9 billion for pork, and $1.4 billion for beef.

Each year, foods contaminated with bacteria, viruses, and other pathogens sicken an estimated 48 million Americans and cause between $15 billion to more than $70 billion in health-related costs. These illnesses can be significantly reduced if producers and regulators adopt prevention-based strategies to decrease the risk of contamination that can make people sick. Pew’s research and policy recommendations inform researchers, the food industry, federal food safety regulators, and the lawmakers who provide oversight and funding for food safety programs. This collection explores lessons learned from recent outbreaks, and steps that producers and federal authorities have taken—or could take—to prevent future ones.