Hazard Recognition

Foodborne disease outbreaks are recognized by the occurrence of illnesses within a short, but variable, period of time. Illness usually occurs within a few hours to a few weeks among individuals who have eaten the same food. The following references aid in recognizing hazards associated with foodborne disease.

• Food Safety. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Provides links to diseases and pathogens; foods and high-risk groups; outbreak investigations; labs and surveillance; educational resources; and more.
• Estimates of Foodborne Illness in the United States. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). CDC estimates that each year roughly 1 in 6 Americans (or 48 million people) gets sick, 128,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 die of foodborne diseases.
• Foodborne Illness, Foodborne Disease, (sometimes called "Food Poisoning"). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Provides answers to frequently asked questions on foodborne illness and disease.
• Preliminary FoodNet Data on the Incidence of Foodborne Illnesses --- Selected Sites, United States, 1999. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) 49(10); 201-5, (March 17, 2000). Describes preliminary surveillance data on 9 foodborne diseases for 1999 and compares them with data from 1996 to 1998.
• Surveillance for Foodborne Disease Outbreaks -- United States, 1993-1997. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) 49(SS01); 1-51, (March 17, 2000). Reviews data on the occurrence and causes of foodborne disease outbreaks (FBDOs) in the United States from January 1993 through December 1997. Also provides charts of foodborne outbreaks based on etiology and contributing factors.
• A-Z Index for Foodborne Illness. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Provides links to foodborne disease and food safety web pages.
• Bad Bug Book 2nd Edition: Foodborne Pathogenic Microorganisms and Natural Toxins Handbook. U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Provides basic facts regarding foodborne pathogenic microorganisms and natural toxins. Includes information from the FDA, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), USDA Food Safety Inspection Services, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Case Examples

• Mead, Paul S., et al. "Food-Related Illness and Death in the United States." Emerging Infectious Diseases 5.5 (October 1999).
• Epidemiologic Notes and Reports Bacillus cereus Food Poisoning Associated with Fried Rice at Two Child Day Care Centers -- Virginia, 1993. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) 43(10), (March 18, 1994). Summarizes an investigation of acute gastrointestinal illness that occurred among children and staff at two jointly owned child day care centers.