Fruit and Vegetable Safety

March 20, 2019 | Subscribe here Fruit and Vegetable Safety Shopping for fruits and veggies? Fruits and vegetables add nutrients to your diet that help protect you from heart disease, stroke, and some cancers. But sometimes raw fruits and vegetables contain harmful germs, such as Salmonella, E. coli, and Listeria, that can make you and your family sick. In the United States, nearly half of foodborne illnesses are caused by germs on fresh produce. Read this recently updated CDC feature, also in Spanish, on food safety tips for fruits and vegetables. Outbreak of Salmonella Infections Linked to Butterball Brand Ground Turkey CDC, other federal agencies, and state partners are investigating a multistate outbreak linked to ground turkey products produced by Butterball, LLC. Six people from three states have been infected with Salmonella Schwarzengrundlinked to Butterball brand ground turkey. Butterball recalled more than 78,000 pounds of ground turkey products that are labeled with establishment number “EST.P-7345.” Consumers should throw out any recalled Butterball ground turkey or return it to the store. CDC Analyzes Factors Contributing to 400 Restaurant Outbreaks Most reported foodborne outbreaks occur in retail food establishments like restaurants. A recent MMWR said that from 2014 to 2016, 16 state and local public health departments reported 404 of these kinds of outbreaks to CDC’s National Environmental Assessment Reporting System (NEARS). Most of the outbreaks were of viral illnesses, such as norovirus. This is the first surveillance summary of NEARS data released. These data, reported by state and local outbreak investigators, come from outbreak investigations in restaurants, banquet facilities, schools, and other institutions. Proper hand hygiene and stopping sick food workers from working can reduce viral foodborne illness outbreaks. NEARS data can help prioritize training and interventions for state and local food safety programs and the retail food establishment industry by identifying gaps in food safety policies and practices. Learn about the outbreaks and gaps CDC found in retail food safety practices and outbreak investigations.