Outbreak Investigations: The Good, The Bad And The Ugly
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Nearly 365 billion meals are served each year in the United States. Notably, almost all of these meals are prepared and consumed without incident. Of the 365 billion annual servings (not including snacks), only a very small fraction will result in a food-borne illness.
Although actual illnesses are likely constant, recent improvements in surveillance have resulted in more outbreaks being identified. In turn, more people are bringing claims. Over the years, we have observed that, because of limited governmental resources (along with other factors too numerous to list), many food-borne illness outbreak investigations are still unable to identify a cause, and some investigations (or lawyers) continue to identify the wrong source. In these and other instances, ill claimants sue the wrong party. Thus, from turkeys to tomatoes, we plan to take some time in coming posts to dissect notable outbreak investigations - the good, the bad and -- of course -- the very ugly.
From leafy-greens to ground beef, we have witnessed an increase in recent years in reported outbreaks. With improved surveillance, we will likely continue to see many more outbreaks identified and investigated. In some of these cases, it may be possible to identify potential problems with a suspected food product long before a source is confirmed. A perfect example, of course, includes early reports in the recent 
