Results of the home food safety—It’s in your hands 2002 survey: Comparisons to the 1999 benchmark survey and healthy people 2010 food safety behaviors objective

Abstract

Foodborne illness is both a widespread public health and economic problem (1-7) and a clinical problem (8-13). Estimates of foodborne illness from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggest that, on average, Americans suffer from foodborne illness about once every five years (1). Even more conservative estimates imply that individuals in the United States are likely to experience foodborne illness at least once within their lifetime (14). Although individuals who have weakened immune systems are more susceptible to foodborne illness and typically exhibit more severe consequences from these illnesses (8,9, 11,12,15,16), all individuals exhibit susceptibility to major pathogens (16).