CDC: Poultry No. 1 Culprit in Food Poisoning

Poultry is the leading cause of U.S. food poisoning outbreaks, health officials report. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) did the report, based on numbers from 2007. The Associated Press wrote about it August 12. Poultry caused 17% of the U.S. outbreaks, the CDC said. Beef accounted for 16% and leafy vegetables 14%. The CDC counted more than 21,000 food poisoning-borne illnesses in 2007. They were part of about 1,100 outbreaks. But most cases aren’t reported. The CDC estimates there are 87 million U.S. cases of food poisoning each year. Bacteria cause about half of them, the CDC said. Viruses cause 40% of the cases. Mushroom toxin or other chemicals cause 7% and parasites about 1%.