News & Perspective

(CIDRAP News) – A Campylobacter jejuni outbreak that sickened close to 100 people in Alaska in 2008 had a surprising cause: fresh peas contaminated by sandhill cranes, according to a report in Clinical Infectious Diseases.

(CIDRAP News) – An annual update today viewed as the nation's report card on food safety showed that Escherichia coli O157:H7 infections continue to decline, but measures to cut Salmonella infections haven't made any headway.

(CIDRAP News) – Most of the foodborne illnesses in the United States are caused by a fairly short list of pathogens in a limited number of foods, with Salmonella, Campylobacter, and poultry ranking high, the University of Florida's Emerging Pathogens Institute said in a lengthy report released today.

(CIDRAP News) – The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) said yesterday its revised standard for Salmonella and its first-time standard for Campylobacter in raw poultry at processing plants will take effect in July, giving processors more incentive to keep the contaminants out of their products.

(CIDRAP News) – The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today released newer, more precise estimates of the foodborne illness burden, suggesting 1 in 6 Americans get sick each year, a rate lower than previously thought.