WASHINGTON—Leafy greens, eggs, and tuna are on the top of a list of the 10 riskiest foods regulated by FDA, says the Center for Science in the Public Interest. Those and oysters, potatoes, cheese, ice cream, tomatoes, sprouts and berries account for nearly 40 percent of all food borne illnesses linked to FDA-regulated food.
More than 1,500 separate, definable outbreaks were associated with the top 10 riskiest FDA-regulated foods, causing nearly 50,000 reported illnesses from 1990 to 2006. CSPI identified 363 outbreaks linked to iceberg lettuce, romaine, spinach, and other leafy greens, variously contaminated with E. coli, Norovirus, or Salmonella, and causing 13,568 cases of illness. Eggs were linked 352 outbreaks and 11,163 illnesses; tuna to 268 outbreaks and 2,341 cases of illness, and oysters to 132 outbreaks causing 3,409 illnesses. Potatoes are linked to 108 outbreaks and 3,659 cases of illness. The data come from CSPI's Outbreak Alert! Database, which uses data collected from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other sources.