Foodborne Disease Outbreaks

Foodborne illness is a big problem. Wash those chicken breasts, and you’re likely to spread Salmonella to your countertops, kitchen towels, and other foods nearby. Even salad greens can become biohazards when toxic strains of E. coli inhabit the water used to irrigate crops. All told, contaminated food causes 48 million illnesses, 128,000 hospitalizations, and 3,000 deaths each year in the United States. With Outbreak, Timothy D. Lytton provides an up-to-date history and analysis of the US food safety system. He pays particular attention to important but frequently overlooked elements of the system, including private audits and liability insurance. Lytton chronicles efforts dating back to the 1800s to combat widespread contamination by pathogens such as E. coli and salmonella that have become frighteningly familiar to consumers. Over time, deadly foodborne illness outbreaks caused by infected milk, poison hamburgers, and tainted spinach have spurred steady scientific and technological advances in food safety. Nevertheless, problems persist. Inadequate agency budgets restrict the reach of government regulation. Pressure from consumers to keep prices down constrains industry investments in safety. The limits of scientific knowledge leave experts unable to assess policies’ effectiveness and whether measures designed to reduce contamination have actually improved public health. Outbreak offers practical reforms that will strengthen the food safety system’s capacity to learn from its mistakes and identify cost-effective food safety efforts capable of producing measurable public health benefits.

"These guidelines have been written for public health practitioners, food and health inspectors, district and national medical officers, laboratory personnel and others who may undertake or participate in the investigation and control of foodborne disease outbreaks."--P. 4 of cover.

Foodborne Diseases, Third Edition, covers the ever-changing complex issues that have emerged in the food industry over the past decade. This exceptional volume continues to offer broad coverage that provides a foundation for a practical understanding of diseases and to help researchers and scientists manage foodborne illnesses and prevent and control outbreaks. It explains recent scientific and industry developments to improve awareness, education, and communication surrounding foodborne disease and food safety. Foodborne Diseases, Third Edition, is a comprehensive update with strong new topics of concern from the past decade. Topics include bacterial, fungal, parasitic, and viral foodborne diseases (including disease mechanism and genetics where appropriate), chemical toxicants (including natural intoxicants and bio-toxins), risk-based control measures, and virulence factors of microbial pathogens that cause disease, as well as epigenetics and foodborne pathogens. Other new topics include nanotechnology, bioterrorism and the use of foodborne pathogens, antimicrobial resistance, antibiotic resistance, and more. Presents principles in disease processes in foodborne illness Includes hot-topic discussions such as the impact of nanotechnology on food safety Provides in-depth description of our current understanding of the infectious and toxic pathogens associated with food Presents cutting-edge research on epigenetics, antimicrobial resistance, and intervention technologies

Globalization of the food supply has created conditions favorable for the emergence, reemergence, and spread of food-borne pathogens-compounding the challenge of anticipating, detecting, and effectively responding to food-borne threats to health. In the United States, food-borne agents affect 1 out of 6 individuals and cause approximately 48 million illnesses, 128,000 hospitalizations, and 3,000 deaths each year. This figure likely represents just the tip of the iceberg, because it fails to account for the broad array of food-borne illnesses or for their wide-ranging repercussions for consumers, government, and the food industry-both domestically and internationally. A One Health approach to food safety may hold the promise of harnessing and integrating the expertise and resources from across the spectrum of multiple health domains including the human and veterinary medical and plant pathology communities with those of the wildlife and aquatic health and ecology communities. The IOM's Forum on Microbial Threats hosted a public workshop on December 13 and 14, 2011 that examined issues critical to the protection of the nation's food supply. The workshop explored existing knowledge and unanswered questions on the nature and extent of food-borne threats to health. Participants discussed the globalization of the U.S. food supply and the burden of illness associated with foodborne threats to health; considered the spectrum of food-borne threats as well as illustrative case studies; reviewed existing research, policies, and practices to prevent and mitigate foodborne threats; and, identified opportunities to reduce future threats to the nation's food supply through the use of a "One Health" approach to food safety. Improving Food Safety Through a One Health Approach: Workshop Summary covers the events of the workshop and explains the recommendations for future related workshops.

Procedures to Investigate Foodborne Illness is designed to guide public health personnel or teams in any country that investigates reports of alleged foodborne illnesses. The manual is based on epidemiologic principles and investigative techniques that have been found effective in determining causal factors of disease incidence. The guidelines are presented in the sequence usually followed during investigations and are organized so that an investigator can easily find the information needed in any phase of an investigation. Included are descriptions of the following procedures: Plan, prepare, investigate and respond to intentional contamination of food Handle illness alerts and food-related complaints that may be related to illness Interview ill persons, those at risk, and controls Develop a case definition Collect and ship specimens and food samples Conduct hazard analysis (environmental assessments) at sites where foods responsible for outbreaks were produced, processed, or prepared Trace sources of contamination Identify factors responsible for contamination, survival of pathogenic microorganisms or toxic substances, and/or propagation of pathogens Collate and interpret collected data Report information about the outbreak This edition also contains extensively updated and more user-friendly keys to assist investigators in identifying the contributing factors that may lead to the contamination, proliferation or survival of agents of foodborne disease.