Between 6.5 million and 81 million cases of food-borne illnesses and as many 9,100 deaths occur each year. Experts believe the risk of food-borne illnesses has been increasing over the last 20 years. Salmonella can lead to reactive arthritis, serious infections, and deaths. Listeria can cause meningitis and stillbirths. Campylobacter may be the most common factor leading to Guillain-Barre syndrome, which is now one of the leading causes of paralysis from disease in the United States.
Bacterial pathogens are the most commonly identified causes of outbreaks of food-borne illnesses.
They can be transmitted and can multiply rapidly in food. It is well known that food-borne illnesses are under reported, so the amounts in the chart below probably do not come close to the actual number of illnesses. Microorganisms are everywhere and often contaminate raw agricultural food products. Some microbes survive preservation treatments. Humans also may contaminate foods during production, processing, distribution, and preparation.