What Are the Top Contaminated Foods?

The Environmental Working Group analyzed data from an FDA study and discovered serious examples of antibiotic resistance in meat sold in this country. Both E. coli and salmonella were found to be resistant to nearly all the antibiotics that were tested.

As for Enterococci, a common family of bacteria, studies have found that 81 percent (or more) of the bacteria detected in samples of ground turkey were resistant to antibiotics, such as tetracyclines, in clinical settings. What’s worse, Enterococci can be spread in hospitals via surfaces or objects that are touched by someone who is infected.

Antibiotic resistance occurs when animals are treated with antibiotics to prevent disease and also to help them grow. Antibiotic resistance is dangerous because it means doctors have fewer treatment options for patients when they get ill.

In June 2018, the FDA issued a warning that an outbreak of salmonella had been linked to precut melon. According to the CDC, at least 70 people became ill; fruit salads containing cut cantaloupe, honeydew, and watermelon were recalled on June 8. The outbreak did not lead to any deaths, and authorities declared it over in July 2018, but this was not the first time that melons had been found to be contaminated.

A major listeria outbreak in cantaloupe in 2011 caused 33 deaths and 143 hospitalizations across 28 states. Listeria is particularly dangerous because it lives in soil, infecting the inside of cantaloupe as well as the outside. Additionally, it thrives in cold temperatures (such as your refrigerator). The CDC linked the multistate listeria outbreak to a farm in Colorado and, after a yearlong investigation, declared it over in October 2011.

A salmonella outbreak linked to cantaloupe killed three people in Kentucky and sent dozens to the hospital in 2012, according to the CDC.

While additional listeria scares in melon have largely been avoided, other foods — including raw milk cheese, packaged salads, and frozen vegetables — have seen outbreaks, according to the CDC.

One of the most consistently contaminated foods, leafy greens account for almost 30 percent of illnesses in foods that are regulated by the FDA, according to data collected from 1990 to 2006.

The problem with leafy greens, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), is that we eat them raw, so they really need to be washed before eating. But contamination can occur in the home as well as on the farm.

Make sure you don’t wash meats and greens in the same sink or cut them on the same counter. In fact, it’s recommended not to wash meat at all anymore as it can spread contaminants all over your sink and counter and can cause cross contamination (the USDA cites bacteria-laden splashes of water around your kitchen as the reason for this recommendation).

And watch out for meat dripping down into your refrigerator’s vegetable bin, Blake warns. Always defrost meat on a plate to keep raw meat and poultry juices from spreading all over the refrigerator.

Next on the list of risky foods are eggs, which have been linked to hundreds of outbreaks of foodborne illness. Contamination in eggs is almost always because of the bacteria salmonella.

You may be wondering how those bacteria get inside an egg. The most prevalent type of salmonella infects the ovaries of hens that lay the eggs. “The best way to protect yourself is to cook your eggs so they are not soft or runny,” says Blake.

The big problem with tuna is not mercury but a naturally occurring toxin called scombrotoxin. This toxin can build up in the flesh of tuna (and other fish) if it is not kept cold enough after the fish has been caught, and unfortunately, you can’t get rid of it by cooking.

Symptoms include headache, nausea, and palpitations. Most people infected with scombrotoxin do not need treatment, and it is not deadly.

Salmonella has also been a concern in frozen tuna; it infected 65 people in 11 states in 2015, according to the CDC.

“Oysters are another risky food because people want to eat them raw,” notes Blake. Most oyster outbreaks are traced to restaurants. Norovirus and a genus of bacteria called vibrio cause most of the foodborne illnesses from oysters.

The vibrio organism is more dangerous. It’s closely related to the bacteria that cause cholera, an acute intestinal infection. Oysters can be contaminated from the water they grow in or by improper handling. More than 300 cases of norovirus gastroenteritis caused by raw or undercooked oysters were reported in three Canadian provinces between December 2016 and March 2017. To prevent contamination, avoid raw or undercooked shellfish and keep cooking environments clean.

You would think this American staple would be safe, because almost no one eats raw potatoes. The food safety issue here usually involves potato salad, which provides the perfect environment for contamination when it sits out for too long: In order to grow, bacteria need time, oxygen, and a temperature within the “danger zone” of 40 degrees F to 140 degrees F, according to the USDA.

Salmonella is again the main problem with this picnic and salad bar favorite, and each person reacts to exposure differently — most cases do not require medical treatment, but some patients can benefit from antibiotics. If severe cramps and diarrhea occur, seek medical attention immediately, because salmonella can cause kidney failure and even death.

Pasteurization, the process that heats cheese to a temperature that will kill illness-causing bacteria, makes cheese safer, but many cheeses are not pasteurized. Pregnant women and children may want to avoid soft cheeses like feta, Brie, Camembert, and queso fresco, which aren’t always made from pasteurized milk.

The CDC says that pregnant women are 10 times more likely to develop a listeria infection, and can pass this infection on to their unborn babies; pregnant Hispanic women are 24 times more likely than other people to develop a listeria infection.

Hard cheeses such as cheddar and Asiago are typically pasteurized and safe for consumption by pregnant women. Still, the CDC reports that most illness caused by dairy is because of raw milk.

This is cruel: Salmonella and staphylococcus bacteria can cause contaminated ice cream. Soft ice cream may contain listeria caused by improperly cleaned machines and can be hazardous for pregnant women.

In 2015, listeria was found in ice cream from the brand Blue Bell, sickening 10 people in four states and killing three, according to the CDC. “Ice cream food contamination may be more common in homemade ice cream due to undercooked eggs,” warns Blake. If you make homemade ice cream, use pasteurized eggs to eliminate this risk.

A few years ago tomatoes contaminated with salmonella was big news when almost 200 people became sick across the country, according to the CDC. Salmonella can enter a tomato through the soil by way of the plant’s root system.

Tomatoes can also be contaminated by bacteria or norovirus through cracks in the skin during handling or preparation in a restaurant. Once the tomato has been infected, the only way to avoid foodborne illness is by cooking it.

Sprouts are increasingly popular in salad bars and the American diet. This germinating form of seeds and beans grows best in a warm and moist environment. Unfortunately, E. coli and salmonella thrive in the same environment. Contaminated raw clover sprouts were responsible for illness in 19 people in 2014, reports the CDC. Food safety advocates have urged the FDA to place warning labels on raw sprouts.

Cyclospora is a parasite that contaminates certain foods. Raspberries from South America have caused outbreaks. Hepatitis A, a virus that affects the liver, has also caused food safety problems in berries.

Imported frozen strawberries that were added to smoothies caused a hepatitis A 2016 outbreak in nine states sickened 143 people, according to the CDC. Berries have been linked with at least two dozen food contamination outbreaks since 1990, according to CSPI.

To reduce the risk of food contamination and illness, stay on top of expiration dates and learn how to prepare and store food safely. You can take these USDA-recommended steps every time you cook.

• Avoid cross-contamination of raw meat and other foods by keeping separate cutting boards and serving utensils for produce and meat; do not place cooked food back on a surface that previously held raw food.
• Rinse fresh produce under running water before cooking, even if you intend to peel or cut the produce, as microbes can be transferred from the outside to the inside of these foods.
• Store dairy-based foods and meats at the proper temperature (that’s 0 degrees F if frozen, and 40 degrees F if refrigerated); for foods that you’ve cooked, refer to this safe minimum cooking temperature chart from FoodSafety.gov.
• Regularly wash kitchen sponges in the dishwasher.
• Sanitize kitchen countertops, cutting boards, refrigerator spaces, and kitchen appliances frequently.
• When shopping, ensure that raw meat and seafood are placed in plastic bags and kept separate from other foods
• Wash hands with warm water and soap for 20 seconds before and after handling food, suggests the FDA.

Don’t leave perishable foods out for longer than two hours at room temperature, recommends the FDA, unless they’re being kept hot or cold as required. If you’re eating outdoors and the temperature is over 90 degrees F, this timeframe shrinks to just one hour. Throw out any food that’s been left out for longer than this.

“Food safety is everybody’s responsibility,” Blake says, “including the FDA, growers, shippers, handlers, and consumers. The best way to protect yourself is with the four C’s: clean, cook, combat cross contamination, and chill. Don’t shy away from fresh produce. It’s an important part of your healthy diet. Just use the fifth C — common sense.”

Additional reporting by Melinda Carstensen and Laura McArdle.