48 million cases of foodborne illness a year; most are not linked to foul play

Foodborne illness happens. It sucks when it does.

It’s pretty much never intentional; not never, but rare.

In 1986, two Rajneeshee commune mem­bers were indicted for conspiring to tamper with consumer products by poi­soning food after over 750 community members in The Dalles, Oregon became ill with salmonellosis in 1982.

It sucks that twelve Alabamans ended up with what looks like foodborne illness after a holiday party this week. It’s weird that the Montgomery Advertiser coverage twice says that the cases probably weren’t as result of intentional contamination.

No foul play is suspected, and it looks like it is a case of accidental food poisoning, said Capt. Jeff Hassell, who commands the Prattville Police Department’s investigations division. Kinedyne Corporation, which operates a plant in the 1100 block of Washington Ferry Road, held its holiday lunch Friday. About an hour after eating, several employees complained of feeling sick, Hassell said.

Three employees were taken by ambulance to Prattville Baptist Hospital’s emergency room, with a fourth employee going by private vehicle, said Ernie Baggett, director of the Autauga County Emergency Management Agency. 

“We are investigating because it is an unusual situation, so many people becoming sick so quickly,” Hassell said. “Right now, we have nothing to point to an intentional act. We are looking at improperly cooked chicken as the most likely source for a food poisoning situation.”

“It was a pot luck dinner,” Baggett said. “No one became seriously ill, but a few employees wanted to go to the hospital just to get checked out.

 

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About Ben Chapman

Dr. Ben Chapman is a professor and food safety extension specialist at North Carolina State University. As a teenager, a Saturday afternoon viewing of the classic cable movie, Outbreak, sparked his interest in pathogens and public health. With the goal of less foodborne illness, his group designs, implements, and evaluates food safety strategies, messages, and media from farm-to-fork. Through reality-based research, Chapman investigates behaviors and creates interventions aimed at amateur and professional food handlers, managers, and organizational decision-makers; the gate keepers of safe food. Ben co-hosts a biweekly podcast called Food Safety Talk and tries to further engage folks online through Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and, maybe not surprisingly, Pinterest. Follow on Twitter @benjaminchapman.