The Most Dangerous Foods (PHOTOS)

A new study put out by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has ranked the ten foods that the FDA regulates which have caused the most foodborne illnesses. Noticeably absent from the list are meat products. The reason: this list only includes what the FDA regulates -- produce, seafood, eggs and dairy products. The USDA oversees meat, which is why it's not included on this list. While CSPI's top ten headline is sure to draw attention, the result should not be to scare consumers off of these individual foods, many of which are extremely nutritious on their own. The real culprit that CSPI is taking aim at is the industrial agriculture system. The CSPI concludes that the FDA's mandate is outdated, and it lacks the authority and resources to properly regulate the nation's food supply. "A complex, globalized food system, archaic food-safety laws, and the rise of large-scale production and processing have combined to create a perfect storm of unsafe food," the study states.

Three hundred and sixty-three outbreaks and 13,568 illnesses were attributed to leafy greens in the last 20 years. Eggs rank as the second riskiest food, with 352 outbreaks involving 11,163 reported cases of illness. Tuna, oysters, potatoes, cheese, ice cream, tomatoes, sprouts, and berries round out the top ten. the group's study cites E. Coli, Salmonella, Norovirus and other potentially deadly pathogens as the top culprits of foodborne illnesses in the United States.

Various industries criticized the study's findings due to their association with foods cited in the top ten list. In response to one of the study's more surprising findings--that ice cream is in danger of transmitting Salmonella--the National Milk Producers Federation released a statement accusing the study of basing its findings on outdated information. "Cheese and ice cream products are among the safest, most stringently regulated foods in this country," the federation wrote in a press release.

We at HuffPost Green hope that the study will ignite a larger conversation about our industrial food system and what is necessary to regulate it.

See the slideshow below for more information about these foods.

• • • • • • • • • • LEAFY GREENS - #1: Leafy greens can become initially contaminated on the farm and continue to spread pathogens until consumed.

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Comments

[runswithscissors]

10:59 PM on 10/28/2009

So it's better to survive on a diet of Spam, Ramen, and Coke than fresh fruit and veggies? Or maybe Jack Daniels and Slim Jims? What a joke

[harpo73]

02:30 PM on 10/09/2009

Cut me some slack.

Berries and leafy greens and tuna are usually on the list of foods we SHOULD be eating.

[MuchMadness]

10:15 PM on 10/08/2009

CSPI sounds like a bunch of alarmists. We've got to eat something. Lighten up, CSPI. If everything is bad, then nothing is good. If you declare everyone to be the enemy, then who will be your ally?

[burtmckinly]

11:47 PM on 10/07/2009

There are plenty of far more dangerous foods, like Akee, which will induce a coma if harvested at the wrong time: http://anthrome.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post.php?action=edit&post=676&message=1

[Mattjoe3]

11:00 PM on 10/07/2009

Mr. Sorensen

To keep true to the title of your piece..........where are all the photos of Monsanto's GMO "frankenfood"?

[Progressiveama]

01:47 AM on 10/09/2009

NO KIDDING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[AngelaQuattrano]

01:33 PM on 10/07/2009

Potato SALAD which has been mishandled is the problem, not POTATOES. And if 70% of tomato-borne illnesses are the fault of RESTAURANTS, why blame the raw ingredient?

[yakmon]

01:04 PM on 10/07/2009

"Most potato outbreaks are linked to potato salad, which can contain many ingredients and a broad range of pathogens."

Mayonnaise sitting unrefrigerated... so what is it about potatoes that is dangerous? Oh the stuff that we add to it.... Why don't you list the real issue—mayonnaise. Media attention would go away cause we all know that already.

Sensationalism is the biggest threat to our health, and news publications could curb the habit right now, and save us all a lot of grief.

[EagleBenny]

11:30 AM on 10/07/2009

This report makes no distinction regarding where these foods were purchased, i.e. whether they are dangerous in general or depending on where or how you buy / grow them.

[DavidMG]

10:59 AM on 10/07/2009

CSPI loves attention. Their report is really a condemantion of the governemt regulators, but that would not get any press. They are scaring people away from these perfectly good foods. Boo on them!

[2centsplain]

11:16 AM on 10/07/2009

Probably those liberals.

[Monica PerezNevarez]

09:02 AM on 10/07/2009

Just makes me more determined to have my own garden, or buy from local, respected farmers, and, also, wash all my fresh veggies really well before eating them. Personally, I hear the death knell for industrialized agriculture. It may be some decades away, but we are all going to have to eat local and organic after Peak Oil anyway.

[sb250guy]

10:42 AM on 10/07/2009

A lot of people are going to call you crazy or paranoid now, but you're 100% right.

[elbzee]

11:27 AM on 10/08/2009

That is absolutely the best way to go! There is nothing positive but volume associated with Agribusiness. Support the local growers & family farms!

[Stacy Miller]

08:47 AM on 10/07/2009

Of course, further research would probably find that the majority of leafy green outbreaks are linked with commercially-grown bagged greens. I don't seek to minimize the importance of safe, healthful food, but let's get some perspective here: According to this report, there were 13,000 illnesses linked to leafy greens in the last 20 years. Last year alone, there were more than 34,000 DEATHS in automobile accidents. In 2006, there were more than 72,000 DEATHS linked to diabetes.

Supporting mechanisms where there is inherent transparency and accountability around the buying and selling of fresh produce (farmers markets and other direct marketing outlets), and focusing on the large processing and packaging facilities where the real risks are, will be more cost-effective than any kind of mandatory crop-specific production guidelines. Not to mention that it will revitalize local economies, provide entrepreneurial opportunities in rural areas, reduce health care costs, and build community.

[yakmon]

01:19 PM on 10/07/2009

"...more than 72,000 DEATHS linked to diabetes."

Yes but what is the culprit on that one? SODA is probably near the top of the list , so in fact SODA is more dangerous than leafy greens. (That's not to mention the 7 deaths per year of coke machines that fall on people and kill them.)

How about the tobacco leaf crop, How many deaths there?
"In the USA, about 438,000 people die from smoking-related illnesses per year. Overall, cigarette smoking accounts for about 30% of cancer deaths. Of every 5 deaths in the USA, 1 is caused from smoke"
Sorry it was Food products...
" Estimated deaths from oral cancer in 2004 are at 4,830 men and 2,400 women" pass the Skoal...

What we need is Honest journalism....

Better pass the spinich...

[Sporadic1]

08:34 AM on 10/07/2009

In other words, a large portion of the most popular foods which help maintain health are the most dangerous foods? Wow. Its time to wash some things. Let's start with the farm workers: put portable potties in the fields and have them wash their hands before they handle the food. Next, keep out any animal dung fertilizers. Third, wash the vehicles hauling these foods; wash the people at the processing plant, the plant equipment, etc. Then clean the distribution equipment and vehicles and the grocery store people and equipment. Then wash the food good at home. That only leaves that one filthy little pig in the restaurant to deal with---if any knows who it is, make sure they get fired!

[ReverseUniversal]

09:49 AM on 10/07/2009

Doesn't seem to me that any change is needed. In fact, if these are the worst, then we're doing a pretty good job. 13,000 cases (the most dangerous one) in 20 years is 650 per year. So about 2 people of every million get sick from that one each year. Taking any measure to reduce a rate so low would be an exercise in futility.

[spikeykitten]

07:52 AM on 10/07/2009

Cows, lambs and piggies not only yummy but safe

Green stuff - icky and sickley.

[americanexile]

09:19 AM on 10/07/2009

You think vegetables are dirty - go see a factory farm or a slaughterhouse - you'll NEVER eat meat again (I haven't)...

If it wasn't for the fact that burger chains and restaurants don't serve rare cooked meat anymore, I would venture to guess that hundreds of thousands of people, if not millions would be sick/dead from E Coli or Salmonella in their meat. the switch to no more rare steaks and burgers is what makes you THINK meat is clean they kill the bugs with fire, but they are ALL OVER IT......

The trick is LOCAL, SPRAY-FREE ORGANIC produce.

The way people have been doing it for millenia - until about the 40's.....

[sb250guy]

10:48 AM on 10/07/2009

The agriculture industry's answer to these problems is to no longer cook rare meat or have raw eggs or milk. Why do we have to accept eating worse tasting food than our grandparents did just to keep profits up for big business. Food is for everyone. We deserve safe healthy food. I like rare beef. If raised, slaughtered ad packaged properly, there is no reason it couldn't be cooked rare. And don't even get me started on ground beef in America. Disgusting!

[yakmon]

01:27 PM on 10/07/2009

If your not outraged your not paying attention... May the corporations live long and make profit—despite the costs.

"Dr. Kenneth Petersen, an assistant administrator with the department’s Food Safety and Inspection Service, said that the department could mandate testing, but that it needed to consider the impact on companies as well as consumers. “I have to look at the entire industry, not just what is best for public health,” Dr. Petersen said."—NYT

All about your burgers:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/04/health/04meat.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&em

[SangZe]

10:12 AM on 10/08/2009

Study English.

[hsr0601]

04:39 AM on 10/07/2009

1. Provided the average temperature is getting higher, accordingly all forms of germs, viruses, and influenza etc are more likely to multiply.

Some skeptics say the warning against hazards of climate change is overstated, but judging from more frequent and widespread outbreaks of e. coli, salmonella, and bird, swine flu cases endangering human lives and economic recovery seriously, some prompt measures need to be taken, I guess.



2. I personally recognize that wheat is a far better diet than meat on the ground it normally exits body with ease and rapidity, and we are well aware that our heath depends upon smooth metabolism and blood stream associated with the immune system and how important our daily workout is, as well.

I still think the critical conditions mostly come from breach of our immune system, and the food that stays long in the body is more likely to become a source where germs, bacterias and the like multiply.
Sounds outlandish, but wheat might be a principal "clean and healthy" food that has led western society to the most decent culture of all.

[Brendan H]

03:50 AM on 10/07/2009

This is nonsense. Most of these issues arise due to the fact that you are likely to eat these foods raw and they have often been exposed to meat, and if it's exposed to meat then it is likely exposed to feces. Leafy greens wouldn't be anywhere near this list if they weren't being exposed to meat/feces.

This is like saying the common cold is a risky disease to get because it could lead to pneumonia. If the cold was properly cared for, you probably wouldn't get pneumonia, therefore pneumonia is the risky disease to get, not the cold.

MEAT is the riskiest food, because it exposes our other food to pathogens that they otherwise wouldn't be exposed to.

[SamBarb]

10:44 AM on 10/07/2009

Exactly. Where is meat on this list? Chicken, Pork, and Beef should be #1, 2, and 3. In many instances, these plants become contaminated due to the factory farm run off.

Way to scare consumers without providing a real analysis HP. This list is a shameful protection of meat.

[propitiousmoment]

02:32 PM on 10/08/2009

Read the d*mn article. This is about foods regulated by the FDA. Meat is regulated by USDA.