These top 10 multistate food poisoning outbreaks for 2019 sickened thousands of people, hospitalized hundreds, and killed some people. They ranged from multiple cyclospora outbreaks to outbreaks linked to ground beef, turkey and chicken, pig ear dog treats, and romaine lettuce. Many lawsuits were filed in response to these outbreaks.
- Cyclospora Outbreaks. This collection of individual and multistate outbreaks sickened more than 2400 people in 2019. This number represents a substantial increase over the cyclospora outbreaks in 2017 and 2018.
- JBS Tolleson ground beef Salmonella Newport outbreak. This outbreak sickened more than 400 people and hospitalized 117. Several recalls were issued, since the ground beef was sold under many different brand names.
- Raw Turkey Salmonella Reading outbreak. This outbreak, which sickened 358 people, was unusual because not only did the government not identify a single supplier or producer, many different types of products were implicated. Some patients touched raw turkey pet food, others ate undercooked turkey, and some worked with turkeys.
- The Siga Logistics de RL de VC imported basil outbreak. One specific cyclospora outbreak that sickened at least 241 people was linked to fresh basil. The basil was recalled. Six people were hospitalized.
- Ground Beef E. coli O103 outbreak. This outbreak sickened 209 people in 10 states. Twenty-nine people were hospitalized, and two developed hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). Again, public health officials did not find one supplier or producer in this outbreak, but cautioned consumers to be careful when handling raw ground beef.
- Pig Ear dog treats Salmonella outbreak. This outbreak sickened at last 154 people in 34 states. Thirty-five people were hospitalized. And no, people did not eat these treats. They just touched them, or touched a pet who had eaten the pig ears and shed the bacteria in their feces.
- Caito Melon Salmonella Carrau outbreak. this outbreak was linked to cut melons which sickened at least 137 people in 10 states, and hospitalized 38. Caito Foods recalled their watermelon, honeydew, cantaloupe, and pre-cut fruit medley products in the wake of this outbreak.
- Raw chicken Salmonella Infantis outbreak. This outbreak was another example of the government not identifying a single supplier because officials think this contamination is widespread in the chicken industry. The outbreak strain was found in 76 slaughter establishments. It sickened 129 people in 32 states.
- E. coli Salinas romaine outbreak. This outbreak is out of order, since an update occurred while this list was being compiled. At least 138 people in 25 states were sickened, 72 were hospitalized, and 13 developed HUS. For a while, the FDA and CDC recommended that every consumer avoid romaine harvested in the Salinas, California region. This outbreak is still ongoing.
- Cavi papaya Salmonella Uganda outbreak. This outbreak sickened at least 81 people in 9 states, and was linked to papayas imported from Mexico.
Let’s hope that 2020 has fewer food poisoning outbreaks and fewer people sickened.
