Federal report says leafy greens are the top food poisoning source
NEW YORK - A big government study has identified leafy greens like lettuce and spinach as the leading source of food poisoning, a perhaps uncomfortable conclusion for health officials who want us to eat our vegetables.
"Most meals are safe," said Dr. Patricia Griffin, a government researcher and one of the study's authors who said the finding shouldn't discourage people from eating produce. Experts repeated often-heard advice: Be sure to wash those foods or cook them thoroughly.
While more people may have gotten sick from plants, more died from contaminated poultry, the study also found. The results were released Tuesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Each year roughly 1 in 6 Americans - or 48 million people - get sick from food poisoning. That includes 128,000 hospitalizations and 3,000 deaths, according to previous CDC estimates.
The report is the most comprehensive the CDC has produced on the sources of food poisoning, covering the years 1998 through 2008. It reflects the agency's growing sophistication at monitoring illnesses and finding their source.
What jumped out at the researchers was the role fruits and vegetables played in food poisonings, said Dr. Griffin, who heads the CDC office that handles foodborne infection surveillance and analysis.
About 1 in 5 illnesses were linked to leafy green vegetables - more than any other type of food. And nearly half of all food poisonings were attributed to produce in general, when illnesses from other fruits and vegetables were added in.
Without actually saying so, the CDC report suggests that the Food and Drug Administration should devote more staff time and other resources to inspection of fruits and vegetables, said Michael Doyle, director of the University of Georgia's Center for Food Safety.
CDC officials emphasized that their report should not be seen as discouraging people from eating vegetables.
Many of the vegetable-related illnesses come from norovirus, which is often spread by cooks and food handlers. So contamination sometimes has more to do with the kitchen or restaurant it came from then the food itself, Dr. Griffin noted.
The study found that while vegetable-related illnesses were more common, they were not the most dangerous. The largest proportion of foodborne illness deaths - about 1 in 5 - were due to poultry. That was partly because of three big outbreaks more than 10 years ago linked to turkey deli meat.
According to the CDC, from 1998 to 2008, the number of deaths linked to various food sources:
-âMeat and poultry: 417 (277 from poultry)
-âFruits and nuts: 96