The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that nearly 48 million people get sick from a foodborne illness each year. That’s about twice the population of Texas. Of that, 128,000 people are hospitalized annually, and 3,000 people die.
Foodborne illnesses are underreported because some outbreaks are never relayed to local health departments, some are never identified, and some reported illnesses cannot be fully investigated. It’s voluntary for health departments to report foodborne illness data; when they do, it’s through the CDC’s National Outbreak Reporting System (NORS).
