The Interagency Food Safety Analytics Collaboration (IFSAC), a joint initiative of the FDA, CDC, and USDA-FSIS, has recently released its 2022 Annual Report on Foodborne Illness Source Attribution Estimates. This comprehensive report sheds light on the primary sources of foodborne illnesses caused by Salmonella, Escherichia coli O157, and Listeria monocytogenes, offering critical insights for food safety stakeholders.
Foodborne Pathogens and Their Sources
The 2022 report highlights the leading food categories associated with these pathogens, providing actionable data to reduce foodborne illness outbreaks:
Salmonella
- Top Sources: Chicken, turkey, and seeded vegetables.
- Impact: One of the most prevalent causes of foodborne illnesses and hospitalizations, causing diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps. Can be life-threatening in young children, the elderly, and those with weakened immune systems.
- Key Considerations: Salmonella is often present in the intestines of animals, making cross-contamination a significant concern during food processing.
- By The Numbers/Annual Statistics: Salmonella causes an estimated 1.35 million illnesses, 26,500 hospitalizations, and 420 deaths in the United States every year.
- Prevention Strategies: Consumers should cook poultry thoroughly to 165°F (74°C), wash hands and surfaces after handling raw poultry, and thoroughly wash seeded vegetables. The industry should implement strict hygiene practices during processing and use appropriate antimicrobial treatments.
E. coli O157
- Top Sources: Leafy greens and beef.
- Impact: Causes severe diarrhea (often bloody), abdominal cramps, and vomiting. Can lead to kidney failure in young children.
- Key Considerations: Can survive in acidic environments and at low temperatures, making it challenging to eliminate.
- Prevention Strategies: Consumers should thoroughly wash leafy greens, cook beef to an internal temperature of 160°F (71°C), and avoid cross-contamination between raw meat and other foods. The industry should implement stringent hygiene practices during cultivation and processing of produce and use effective sanitation methods in beef processing plants.
- By The Numbers/Annual Statistics: E. coli O157 causes an estimated 63,153 illnesses, 2,138 hospitalizations, and 20 deaths in the United States each year.
Listeria monocytogenes
- Top Sources: Dairy products (especially soft cheeses), deli meats, and fruits.
- Impact: Causes fever, muscle aches, and sometimes gastrointestinal symptoms. Can lead to severe complications like meningitis and sepsis, especially in high-risk groups.
- Key Considerations: Listeria is unique because it can grow at refrigerator temperatures, making it a concern in ready-to-eat foods with longer shelf lives.
- Prevention Strategies: Consumers, especially high-risk individuals, should avoid soft cheeses, deli meats, and unpasteurized dairy products and thoroughly wash fruits before consumption. The industry should maintain strict temperature control during processing and storage and implement environmental monitoring programs to detect Listeria in processing facilities.
- By The Numbers/Annual Statistics: Listeria causes an estimated 1,600 illnesses, 1,500 hospitalizations, and 260 deaths in the United States annually.
How This Report Helps Improve Food Safety
The IFSAC report is a cornerstone resource for food industry professionals, public health officials, and policymakers. Its data enables:
- Enhanced Risk Management: Identifying high-risk foods to prioritize safety measures.
- Strengthened Compliance: Aligning practices with updated FDA and USDA regulations.
- Informed Decision-Making: Supporting data-driven strategies to mitigate contamination risks.
Empowering Food Safety Stakeholders
The report’s actionable insights regarding foodborne illness can be applied across the food supply chain:
- Manufacturers: Implement rigorous testing and preventive controls for high-risk products.
- Retailers: Educate staff and consumers on safe handling practices.
- Regulators: Focus inspections and resources on the most susceptible food categories.
A Call to Action for Safer Food Practices
IFSAC’s 2022 Annual Report emphasizes the importance of collaboration and proactive measures in combating foodborne illness. By addressing the identified sources, the food industry can play a pivotal role in reducing outbreaks and protecting public health.
To explore the full report and its findings, visit the FDA website.
FAQs
What is the IFSAC report and why is it important?
The IFSAC report is produced by the collaboration between Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and United States Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA-FSIS). It provides annual estimates of how much foodborne illness is attributed to specific pathogens (like Salmonellosis/Salmonella, Listeriosis/Listeria, Escherichia coli O157 infection/E. coli O157) and food categories. These data help public-health agencies, industries and regulators prioritise food-safety actions.
According to the latest report, which foods and pathogens are most associated with illness?
The 2022 IFSAC report finds that for Salmonella, more than 75% of illnesses were attributed to seven food categories: chicken, fruits, seeded vegetables (e.g., tomatoes), pork, other produce (e.g., nuts), beef and turkey.
For E. coli O157, over 85% of illnesses were linked to two categories: vegetable row crops (like lettuce/spinach) and beef.
For Listeria monocytogenes, more than 75% of illnesses were attributed to dairy products, vegetable row crops and fruits.
These insights emphasise which food-pathogen pairings carry higher risk.
How are the food categories and pathogen data derived in the report?
The methodology is based on outbreak surveillance data (illnesses linked to food vehicles). For the 2022 report, data from 48,375 illnesses linked to 1,355 outbreaks from 1998 through 2022 were used. Foods are assigned to one of 17 standard categories, created by IFSAC, and a statistical model weights more recent outbreaks more heavily (especially 2018-2022).
However, the report notes limitations: e.g., the outbreak data may not represent all sporadic (non-outbreak) cases and certain pathogens like Campylobacteriosis (Campylobacter) are excluded from some estimates because the outbreak data are less reliable for attribution.
What practical implications does this report have for food-industry stakeholders and regulators?
The report helps in several ways:
Regulators and public-health agencies can target interventions toward food categories with high attribution (e.g., beef for E. coli, chicken/produce for Salmonella).
Food companies can prioritise risk-management efforts in their supply chains for the higher-risk combinations identified.
It supports the development of policies and standards (inspections, pathogen-reduction goals) by highlighting where most illnesses originate.
For consumers, awareness of high-risk foods may inform safer food-handling and choices (e.g., raw produce, under-cooked meats).
The report also serves as a benchmark: as interventions are implemented, future reports can assess whether attribution shifts, signalling improvements or emerging risks.
What are the limitations of the IFSAC data and how should one interpret the results?
It’s important to interpret the results with caution because of several limitations:
Outbreak data represent only a fraction of all foodborne illness – many cases are sporadic and not traceable.
Assigning a food vehicle to a single category can overlook complexities (mixed foods or multiple ingredients).
For some pathogens (like Listeria) the number of outbreaks is small, so credibility intervals (statistical uncertainty) are wide.
Changes in a percentage year-to-year may reflect increased attribution elsewhere rather than an absolute drop in one category.
The report excludes certain pathogens (e.g., Campylobacter) from the estimates due to methodological concerns, so the full burden and sources may not be captured.
Thus, while the report is highly useful for prioritisation and trend tracking, it is not a complete map of all foodborne illness risks.
