CDC's 2013 Food Safety Progress Report Shows... Not So Much Progress
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today released its 2013 Food Safety Progress Report, which shows that foodborne infections continue to be an important public health problem in the United States. The "national report card," which the CDC issues annually, suggests that more can be done to reduce foodborne infections.
According to the CDC, the rate of Salmonella infections decreased by about nine percent in 2013 compared with the previous three years, bringing it to the rate last observed in the 2006-2008 baseline period. But Campylobacter infections, often linked to dairy products and chicken, have risen 13 percent since 2006-2008. Vibrio infections, often linked to eating raw shellfish, were at the highest level observed since active tracking began in 1996; however, rates of infections caused by Vibrio vulnificus, the most severe species, have remained steady. Rates of the other foodborne infections tracked have not changed since the period between 2006 and 2008.