Foodborne illness making millions of Americans sick – National Consumers League

Foodborne illness causes 76 million Americans to fall sick, 325,000 Americans to be hospitalized, and 5,000 Americans to die each year. Recent foodborne illness outbreaks linked to contaminated foods highlight the inadequacies of our current food safety system. Learn what groups like NCL are doing to help improve the safety of our foods.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, foodborne illness causes 76 million Americans to fall sick, 325,000 Americans to be hospitalized, and 5,000 Americans to die each year. Recent foodborne illness outbreaks linked to contaminated peanuts, cookie dough, and spinach – along with news coverage of illness and death from contaminated ground beef – highlight the inadequacies of our current food safety system.

Outdated laws, insufficient authorities, and inadequate resources prevent the Food and Drug Administration from ensuring the safety of the food supply. For these reasons, the National Consumers League supports food safety reform and is doing its part as a member of the Make Our Food Safe Coalition (www.makeourfoodsafe.org) to convince Congress to enact improved food safety legislation this year.