15 Common Food Poisoning Risks

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that every year 48 million Americans, or roughly one in six people, get sick from foodborne illnesses, and about 3,000 cases each year are deadly.

Bacteria, viruses, parasites and harmful chemicals can cause foodborne illnesses. A 2011 CDC report estimates that more than half of illnesses, hospitalizations and deaths from foodborne pathogens in the U.S. are attributed to the virus Norovirus, commonly spread from sick people to food during handling due to improper handwashing. The bacterium Salmonella and the parasite Toxoplasma gondii are the most deadly pathogens and are usually caused by eating undercooked, contaminated meat.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest has compiled a list of risky FDA-regulated food and a field guide to meat and poultry safety.

Check out the slideshow above to discover which foods cause the most foodborne-illness outbreaks.

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