Based on a joint federal food study by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, the primary source of Salmonella poisoning was seeded vegetables, not meat as many might have assumed. The Interagency Food Safety Analytics Collaboration Project Report was released in February and specifically studies data from 2008 to 2012.

Salmonella
Seeded vegetables (18 percent)
Fruit (12 percent)
Eggs (12 percent)
Chicken (10 percent)
Pork (8 percent)
Sprouts (8 percent)

The joint study also dissected other common foodborne illnesses.

Escherichia coli
Beef (46 percent)
Vegetable row crops (36 percent)

Listeria
Fruit (50 percent)
Dairy (31 percent)

Campylobacter
Dairy (66 percent)
Chicken (8 percent)