USA: Report Card for Food Safety

Each year, foodborne illness, commonly known as food poisoning, affects about 48 million people in the United States. 

Each year, FoodNet (Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network) reports on the changes in the number of people sickened with foodborne infections that have been confirmed by laboratory tests.

As we can see, Salmonella is the most commonly reported infection, followed by Campylobacter, continuously increasing.

But even more interesting is that for every confirmed case of salmonellosis or campylobacteriosis, there are about thirty undiagnosed.

The data collected by FoodNet also lets CDC, its partners, and policy makers know how much progress has been made in reaching national goals for reducing foodborne illness.

Salmonella found in U.S. restaurant

290 customers and 4 employees of the Firefly on Paradise restaurant in Las Vegas have shown synthoms of Salmonellosis between April 21st and 26th, 2013. According to the final report from the Southern Nevada Health District, a cooked  sausage could be the cause of the infection because it has been verified positive for Salmonella spp. In Nevada, in the same period, other 70 cases of Salmonellosis have been reported (5 of whom hospitalized). It has reported that all of them have consumed food at the Holiday Inn Bordeaux in Fayettville. The full report by the Southern Nevada Health District about the Firefly on Paradise infection is available here.

(this post is also available in italian).