The number of Americans dying from food poisoning has increased by 50 percent in four years, according to a new CDC report.
The United States has also seen a 20 percent increase in the number of people hospitalized after eating spoiled food, and the same rise in potentially fatal cases.
This comes amid emerging concerns about spoiled food served by some airlines, after a Delta flight was forced to make an emergency landing when staff realised passengers were given contaminated food.
About a dozen of the people on board were evaluated by doctors for signs of food poisoning, although it is currently unclear how many ate the food.
The most common bacteria that contaminates food is Campylobacteria, which can cause vomiting, diarrhea and fever, and in rare cases, potentially fatal sepsis.
A Delta spokesperson told DailyMail.com that its teams are investigating the incident and have issued an apology to its customers.
Food poisoning with different bacteria can be fatal if patients become severely dehydrated, leading to kidney failure or damage to the nervous system, according to Cleveland Clinic.
The latest report found that food poisoning caused 31,492 infections, 7,588 hospitalizations and 184 deaths in 2023, compared to 25,866 infections, 6,164 hospitalizations and 122 deaths in 2019.
About 85 percent of cases in 2023 occurred on U.S. soil, and 15 percent occurred when an American contracted the virus abroad.
The total number of cases is likely higher, the CDC said, because many cases of food poisoning go unreported as few patients seek medical help for symptoms.
There are many different bacteria and parasites that can cause food poisoning.
It can be contracted by eating food infected with harmful bacteria, especially undercooked meats.
An example is Escherichia coli (E Coli) infections, which can cause bloody diarrhea, stomach cramps, fever, and dehydration. In recent years, Americans have found this bacteria in their Ground meat and lettuce.
It is commonly found in many different types of meat, including beef, chicken, turkey, venison, and lamb.
A rare and particularly serious strain of this bacteria, called Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC), can cause kidney failure.
This type has seen an increase in prevalence over the past four years, the report said, rising by about 33 percent since 2019, from 2,514 cases to 3,351 cases.
Other common germs include salmonella, listeria and shigella, all of which can cause vomiting, diarrhea, fever and nausea and are commonly found in chicken, sausage and beef, respectively.
The incidence of these infections has remained stable since 2019, according to the report.
Shigella infections have been spreading in homeless encampments in Oregon, California and Pennsylvania, where lack of access to toilets increases the likelihood that people will come into contact with human feces, spreading the germ.
Shigella is transmitted when someone comes into contact with fecal matter through sexual intercourse, diapers, food, or water.
E. coli (Escherichia coli) bacteria live in the intestines of healthy people and animals. But when people are exposed to the bacteria through other sources, such as other people’s feces, they can get food poisoning.
The federal government aims to reduce the incidence of many of these common infections by the end of the decade as part of a broader public health campaign called Healthy People 2030.
However, the new findings show that the federal government has made “a lack of progress toward foodborne illness reduction goals,” the report said.
The report cautions, however, that the rise in case numbers may not be due to more people getting sick each year.
Rather, it could be a sign that the government has gotten better at detecting cases, thanks to scientific advances in monitoring technology.
The new CDC report comes from the Foodborne Illness Active Surveillance Network, which tests samples from people suspected of having food poisoning to determine the microbe they are infected with.
It covers 16 percent of the U.S. population, or approximately 53 million people, and includes ten different states, including Connecticut, Georgia, Maryland, Minnesota, New Mexico, Oregon, Tennessee, California, Colorado, and New York.
The CDC says the included regions roughly match the demographics of the rest of the country.