The document emphasizes the importance of food safety in the U.S., highlighting that foodborne illnesses affect 48 million Americans annually, lead to significant healthcare costs, and disproportionately impact vulnerable populations such as young children and the elderly. It stresses the need for improved safety practices across the food supply chain, from farms to kitchens, and calls for collaboration among the food industry, regulatory bodies, and consumers to reduce these illnesses. Various challenges in food safety, including consumer behavior and industry practices, are also discussed.

1. Print Share
Food Safety
Overview Objectives Interventions & Resources National
Snapshots
View HP2020 Data for:
Food Safety
Midcourse Review Data
Are In!
Check out our interactive
infographic to see progress
toward the Food Safety objectives
and other Healthy People topic
areas.
Related Topic Areas
Environmental Health
Home » 2020 Topics & Objectives » Food Safety
Goal

2. Reduce foodborne illnesses in the United States by improving
food safety-related behaviors and
practices.
Overview
Foodborne illnesses are a burden on public health and
contribute significantly to the cost of health
care. Each year foodborne illnesses sicken 48 million
Americans (approximately 17% of people in
the United States) and lead to 128,000 hospitalizations and
3,000 deaths. A small percentage of
these illnesses are the result of identified foodborne outbreaks,
which happen when two or more
cases of similar illnesses result from eating the same food.
Investigations of foodborne outbreaks,
along with analyses of data on the germs that make us sick and
behaviors that contribute to food
contamination, help us identify where we can make
improvements in the country’s food safety
system. This system spans from growing the food on the farm
through processing, packing,
distribution, transportation, and storage, to preparing it to be
eaten.
Why Is Food Safety Important?

3. Foodborne illnesses are a preventable and underreported public
health problem. These illnesses
are a burden on public health and contribute significantly to the
cost of health care. They also
present a major challenge to certain groups of people. Although
anyone can get a foodborne illness,
some people are at greater risk. For example:
Children younger than age 4 have the highest incidence of
laboratory-confirmed infections from some foodborne
pathogens,
including Campylobacter, Cryptosporidium, Salmonella, Shiga
toxin-producing Escherichia coli O157, Shigella, and Yersinia.
People older than age 50 and those with reduced immunity are
at greater risk for hospitalizations and death from intestinal
pathogens
commonly transmitted through foods.
Safer food promises healthier and longer lives and less costly
health care, as well as a more resilient food industry.
Back to Top
Understanding Food Safety
Physical Determinants of Food Safety
Food hazards, including germs and chemical contaminants, can
enter the food supply at any

4. point from farm to table. Most of these hazards cannot be
detected in food when it is
purchased or consumed. In addition, a food itself can cause
severe adverse reactions in people who are allergic to it. In the
United States,
food allergies are a significant concern, both among children
under age 18 and some adults.
Search HealthyPeople.gov
Go
1
2
3
4
4
5,6
Topics & Objectives Leading Health Indicators Data Search
Healthy People in Action Tools & Resources Webinars &
Events About
Log in
Learn More

5. FoodSafety.gov
Food Recalls and Alerts Widget
Bad Bug Book
United States Food and Drug
Administration
USDA Food Safety and Inspection
Service
More
Find us on: Enter your email for updates: Sign Up
About
Contact Us
Site Map
Accessibility
Privacy Policy
Disclaimers
Freedom of Information Act
Healthy People 2010 Archive
Nondiscrimination Notice

6. Web Badges
Viewers and Players
Social and Behavioral Determinants of Food Safety
It is important for people to understand how their behavior and
activities contribute to the safety of food and how they can
decrease the risk of
foodborne illness. From processes on the farm to practices in
the kitchen, human activities play an important role in food
safety. We face many
challenges in keeping our food safe.
The food industry is challenged by:
Large employee populations with high rates of turnover,
communication challenges, and cultural differences in how food
is prepared
Non-uniform systems for training and certifying workers
Lack of sick leave policies for sick workers
Difficulties in tracing food items to their sources
Changes in production practices
Increasing imports
Consumers are challenged by:
Determining when certain foods are cooked to appropriate

7. temperatures
Separating more risky foods from less risky foods
Storing food at safe temperatures
Properly cleaning hands and surfaces
Foodborne illness surveillance and consumer complaints alert
public health and regulatory agencies that a hazardous product
is in commerce
and should be recalled. The investigation of foodborne illnesses
focuses agencies and the food industry on identifying problems,
initiating
control activities, and improving practices. Prevention activities
and collaborative efforts by the food industry, regulatory and
public health
agencies, and consumers are needed to reduce foodborne illness
in the United States.
References
Scallan E, Hoekstra RM, Angulo FJ, Tauxe RV, Widdowson M-
A, Roy SL, et al. Foodborne
illness acquired in the United States—major pathogens. Emerg
Infect Dis [serial on the
Internet]. 2011 Jan.2011 Jan [cited October 29, 2015].
http://dx.doi.org/10.3201/eid1701.P11101
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Appendix B,

8. Guidelines for confirmation of
foodborne-disease outbreaks, MMWR CDC Surveill Summ 2000
Mar 17, 49(SS-01); 54-62.
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/ss4901a3.htm
Council to Improve Foodborne Outbreak Response (CIFOR)
Guidelines for Foodborne
Disease Outbreak Response, 2nd ed. 2014.
http://www.cifor.us/toolkit.cfm
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Preliminary
FoodNet data on the incidence of infection with pathogens
transmitted commonly
through food—10 states, 2009. MMWR. 2010;59(14):418-22.
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5914a2.htm
Branum AM, Lukacs SL. Food allergy among U.S. children:
Trends in prevalence and hospitalizations. Hyattsville, MD:
National Center for
Health Statistics; 2008 Oct. 8 p. (DHHS publication; no. (PHS)
2009–1209); (NCHS Data Brief; no. 10).
Verrill, L., R. Bruns, and S. Luccioli. Prevalence of self-
reported food allergy in US adults: 2001, 2006, and 2010,
Allergy Asthma Proc
36:1-10, 2015, doi: 10.2500/ aap.2015.36.3895
Back to Top
1

9. 2
3
4
5
6
A Federal Government Web site managed by the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services • 200 Independence
Avenue, S.W., Washington, DC 20201 • © 2014
Site last updated 01/15/18