CDC Report Links 40% of Foodborne Illnesses to Infected Food Workers

A CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) assessment noted that 40% of foodborne illnesses between 2017 and 2019 were linked to infected or ill food workers. These findings suggest increasing awareness of public health protocols and enforcing them in food establishments.

The report analyzed data from the National Environmental Assessment Reporting System (NEARS) between 2017 and 2019. The researchers evaluated information from Alaska, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Fairfax County in Virginia, Georgia, Harris County in Texas, Indiana, Iowa, Jefferson County in Colorado, Kansas City in Missouri, Maricopa County in Arizona, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, the Southern Nevada Health District, Tennessee, Washington, and Wisconsin.

Across those jurisdictions, 800 outbreaks of foodborne illness were linked to 875 different establishments. Additional insights into these outbreaks revealed that roughly 30% occurred yearly, including 27.0% in 2017, 38.3% in 2018, and 34.8% in 2019. Most cases involved a single establishment, while less than 10% involved multiple establishments.

Looking at the causes of these infections, the researchers found outbreaks linked to viruses, bacteria, parasites, and toxins or chemicals. Most cases were viral, amounting to 48.1% of the episodes. Meanwhile, bacterial infections comprised 46.8% of foodborne illness outbreaks. The remaining infections were roughly equally divided between parasites and chemicals.

Approximately 20.8% of foodborne illnesses identified in this study were linked to contamination by a potentially ill worker. The second most significant contributing factor to foodborne illnesses was contaminated raw food, at roughly 17.6%.

In addition, bare-hand contact with ready-to-eat (RTE) food by ill workers accounted for 14.4% of illnesses. Other factors linked to foodborne illnesses include cross-contamination of ingredients and other unspecified contaminants.

Tallied together, worker contamination, including bare-hand contact with RTE food, gloved-hand contact with RTE food, and other worker contamination, accounted for over 40% of outbreaks.

The MMWR concludes, “These findings are a reminder that following Food Code guidance on cross-contamination prevention and proper cooking, reheating, holding, and cooling of food is important to prevent bacterial illness.”