Match the Food to Its “llness-Causing Microorganisms”

Thursday, 28 April 2011 | by Pat's Picks

Researchers at the University of Florida have released the first-ever list of the ten riskiest combinations of foods and “illness-causing microorganisms.” They say their goal was not to “freak people out,” but rather to point out the most common food-poisoning culprits so people can become savvier shoppers.  Poultry contaminated with campylobacter bacteria topped the list, responsible for 608,000 illnesses each year. The Gainesville Sun says together, the combinations are responsible for 3.9 million illnesses, 30,000 hospitalizations and 765 deaths each year in the US. Salmonella appears four times, in conjunction with meat, dairy, produce and something described as “complex foods.”