Foodborne Outbreaks Falling Short of U.S. Reduction Goals

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-07-30/foodborne-outbreaks-falling-short-of-u-s-reduction-goals.html

The U.S. is falling short of goals to reduce salmonella, listeria and campylobacter outbreaks, foodborne pathogens that contribute to 48 million illnesses a year, according to preliminary government data for 2011.

Salmonella cases fell last year to 16.5 per 100,000 people, short of the goal for a reduction to 6.8 illnesses per 100,000, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said July 27. Incidents of listeria, a bacterium found in prepared foods and soil, and campylobacter, which causes diarrhea and vomiting, rose last year and failed to meet the health objectives.

Salmonella remains the most frequent cause of foodborne sickness in the U.S. with an estimated 1.2 million stricken each year and $365 million in direct medical expenditures, the CDC reported June 2011. The Consumer Federation of America, a Washington-based advocacy group, is using the new data to push for a more rapid roll out of the Food Safety Modernization Act, a sweeping set of rules passed by Congress in January 2010 that have missed deadlines for implementation.