CDC Press Release: CDC data show limited progress in reducing foodborne infections in 2013

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) sent this bulletin at 04/17/2014 01:05 PM EDT

Press Release

Embargoed until: Thursday, April 17, 2014, 1:00 p.m. ET
Contact: CDC Media Relations
(404) 639-3286

CDC data show limited progress in reducing foodborne infections in 2013

National report card on food safety indicates more can be done

The nation’s food safety grades are out and the results are mixed. CDC’s annual report card shows that foodborne infections continue to be an important public health problem in the United States.

The rate of salmonella infections decreased by about nine percent in 2013 compared with the previous three years, bringing it to the rate last observed in the 2006-2008 baseline period. But campylobacter infections, often linked to dairy products and chicken, have risen 13 percent since 2006-2008. Vibrio infections, often linked to eating raw shellfish, were at the highest level observed since active tracking began in 1996; however, rates of infections caused by Vibrio vulnificus, the most severe species, have remained steady. Rates of the other foodborne infections tracked have not changed since the period between 2006 and2008.

“CDC data are essential to gauge how we’re doing in our fight against foodborne illness,” said Robert Tauxe, M.D., M.P.H, deputy director of CDC’s Division of Foodborne, Waterborne and Environmental Diseases. “This year’s data show some recent progress in reducing salmonella rates, and also highlight that our work to reduce the burden of foodborne illness is far from over. To keep salmonella on the decline, we need to work with the food industry and our federal, state and local partners to implement strong actions to control known risks and to detect foodborne germs lurking in unsuspected foods.”