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The Most Dangerous States For Foodborne Illness

By Pritzker | Ruohonen

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention keep track of all outbreaks of foodborne illnesses in the country. The CDC defines an outbreak as two or more people becoming ill from the same food acquired at the same establishments. HealthInspections.com analyzed all of the outbreak information from the CDC and concluded that the five worst states in terms of number of outbreaks in 2006 are:

1. Florida- 74 outbreaks
2. California- 69 outbreaks
3. Minnesota- 55 outbreaks
4. Ohio- 54 outbreaks
5. New York- 50 outbreaks

Florida has topped the nation with number of outbreaks for the past three years. According to the data, hotels and restaurants seem to be the leading cause of outbreak in the state. One restaurant in particular, Coconuts on the Beach of a Hilton resort, was found to violate numerous health code violations. According to HealthInspections.com,

83 people got sick at the upscale Hilton resort on Singer Island near West Palm Beach. They were hit with Norovirus, a highly contagious stomach bug that causes vomiting and diarrhea.

Just two days after customers began getting sick, a health inspector cited Coconuts for allowing an employee with some type of infection to continue working. The law requires that sick food workers must be sent home.

The restaurant fared poorly on previous inspections as well, having been cited for 36 violations including employees not washing or changing dirty gloves, cleaning with dirty cloths, and dirty ice machines and soft drink nozzles. The poor record at hotels and restaurants would seem to be a serious issue for a state that depends on its tourism, but the Florida Restaurant and Hotel Association maintains that conditions are improving.

Florida, however, is not the only state with problems. California has consistently been second worse in numbers of outbreaks. San Diego County alone has seen a 43% increase in confirmed cases of restaurant food poisonings over the past three years. Minnesota has a poor record as well, leading the nation in most cases of Norovirus. Experts cite the lack of enforcement in the state and the inability of the public to access inspection reports online.

The report also designated what types of food were likely to lead to illness in each state.

Florida:          Seafood, Ethnic Foods, Lettuce-based Salads

California:      Seafood, Chicken, Ethnic Foods, Lettuce-based Salads

Minnesota:     Seafood, Lettuce-based Salads, Deli Sandwiches

Ohio:              Lettuce-based Salads, Chicken

New York:     Seafood, Lettuce-based Salads 

Overall, the problems in food safety cannot be pinpointed to a single source, but keeping states accountable for their records and informing the public of violations can help promote safer food for all.

Full post as published by Food Poisoning Law Blog on March 22, 2008 (boomark / email).