Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Outbreaks (N = 82)
Illnesses (N = 10,505)
1800
1600
12
1702
1533
10
10
10
9
1400
1389
8
116 1
8
1200
7
1000
6
6
6
7
5
6
946
951
800
4
725
554
4
694
600
3
400
2
368
200
244
1
173
65
0
0
1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002
Year
2003 2004 2005 2006
2007
2008
Figure 5.2.
Produce outbreaks and illnesses by year.
in 1996 produce was associated with about 4.3% of all outbreaks (produce and non-
produce) in the U.S. and 45.5% of illnesses; in 2007, produce was associated with
4.2% of outbreaks and 12.5% of illnesses (Vierk 2008).
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) recently published a report on
produce outbreaks from 1990-2005 (Smith DeWaal and Bhuiya 2008). They indicated
that between 1990 and 2005, there were 713 outbreaks and 34,049 cases of illness
linked to produce in their database and with an average of 48 individuals affl icted per
outbreak. According to CSPI, produce outbreaks accounted for 13% of foodborne
illness outbreaks and 21% of illnesses in their database (Smith DeWaal and Bhuiya
2008). Clearly, outbreaks and illnesses linked to produce continue to be a major health
and safety concern in the U.S.
Produce-related outbreaks are much different than “traditional or classical” food-
borne outbreaks. In a typical outbreak scenario, there is an error involving a food
preparation practice in a commercial kitchen that results in the bacterial contamination
of food that is served to a group of people within a community, who all come down
with similar symptoms of the illness in a relatively short period of time. This type of
outbreak is relatively easy to investigate, since it involves a relatively small number
of people from a specifi c geographic area. In contrast, produce outbreaks present
signifi cantly greater challenges to scientists because they are much more complex and
diffi cult to investigate (Guzewich 2008). Produce items are grown in different areas
of the country or are imported from other countries. A very complex national distribu-
tion system results in fresh produce being shipped all over the country—and in some
cases, internationally. Consumers who become ill are usually scattered across the
country and it often takes some time to determine that the illnesses are due to the
consumption of a common produce item. In addition, the complexity of the distribu-
tion system, where commodities from different growers are often packed and repacked
