Foodborne Illness Statistic
Nov 04, 2008
I enjoy the show each week. I am writing to question the statistics quoted for the number of food-borne illness reported each year. If 76 million people contract a food-borne illness, then we each have about a 1-in-3 chance to be one of these lucky folks. With 4 in my family, at least 1 of us should be sick sometime this year from bad food. This hasn't happened--yet, so someone must be taking it in the gut for my family, or your quoted number of 76 million is off. Are there really 76 million a year? What or who determines that the illness is related to bad food?
Ely, IA
Editor's Note: The statistic comes from The Center for Disease Controls and Prevention - here's a link:
The headline:
"Infectious diseases spread through food or beverages are a common, distressing, and sometimes life-threatening problem for millions of people in the United States and around the world. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates 76 million people suffer from foodborne illnesses each year in the United States, accounting for 325,000 hospitalizations and more than 5,000 deaths."
