Fred Angulo, head of the CDC FoodNet program that tracks food-borne illness, was cited as saying the agency's estimate of deaths probably would fall between 1,000 and the old estimate of 9,000. By comparison, skin cancer claims about 9,200 victims a year. Angulo was cited as saying that new estimates would show 1.4 million cases and 500 deaths. Men seem more prone to food-borne illness than women. They are twice as likely as women to be infected with vibrio, a rare and potentially lethal bacterium in raw oysters.
Men also are more likely to catch common bugs that can lurk in undercooked poultry and meat.
The agency had been sued by the Nutritional Health Alliance, a group of manufacturers, retailers and consumers of dietary supplements, along with a food store, New Nutrisserie. Clinton administration lawyers defended the regulations' constitutionality, and noted that the challengers never asked the FDA to authorize any particular health claim. For that reason, the government lawyers said, the challenge was premature. Pittler asks, how does he knon, adding a system to adequately report adverse reactions to herbal preparations sold over the counter has yet to be established. So their nature and true number is largely unknown.