Food Poisoning Statistics

Get More Information About Food Poisoning Cases

You may hear about food poisoning outbreaks in the United States. Maybe you’ve known someone who was sickened with E.coli bacteria or Salmonella. But how often does it actually happen? We’ve compiled a list of statistics so you can see how often food poisoning and foodborne illnesses occur.

Looking for more statistics? View our accident statistics page.

2012 Food Poisoning Statistics (National)

• Salmonella poisoning is the most common type of food poisoning. It causes 40 percent of food poisoning cases. There were 7,800 reported cases of Salmonella poisoning in 2012, with 33 deaths.
• Campylobacter, a type of bacteria that is spread through chicken and unpasteurized milk and cheese, is becoming more common. In 2012, 7,000 people were sickened by Campylobacter, and another six died.
• Vibrio infections – caused by contaminated seafood spread via warm sea water – have increased 43 percent. In 2012, there were 193 cases of Vibrio infections and six deaths.
• Approximately one in six Americans (48 million people) is sickened by foodborne illnesses every year, and about 3,000 die.
• Roughly 128,000 people are hospitalized annually for foodborne illnesses.

2011 Foodborne Illness Statistics (Estimates)

• There are two major groups of foodborne illnesses — 31 known pathogens were predicted to cause 9.4 million illnesses in 2011. About 55,961 people would be hospitalized, and 1,351 would die due to one of these known pathogens.
• “Unspecified pathogens” were predicted to cause 38.4 million illnesses, hospitalize 71,878, and kill 1,686 people in 2011.
• Eight known pathogens cause the majority of illnesses, hospitalizations, and deaths related to food poisoning or foodborne illnesses. They include: Norovirus, Salmonella, Clostridium perfringens (nicknamed the “cafeteria germ”), Campylobacter spp, Staphylococcus aureus, Toxoplasma gondii, and Listeria monocytogenes.

Victim of Food Poisoning? Get a Free Legal Evaluation Now

Did you suffer from food poisoning? Were you sickened by a foodborne illness, and do you have piles of medical bills? If so, contact Edgar Snyder & Associates right away. You may have a case, but evidence disappears quickly, and there are time limits to file a claim.

Call 1-866-9-4EDGAR (1-866-943-3427), or fill out the form at the top right of this webpage for a free case review. There’s no obligation to use our services, so you have nothing to lose. Find out if you have a case today.