Why Is Food Safety Important?

The most obvious reason to practice food safety is to help prevent you and your family and friends from getting sick. No one wants to be sick on their days off from school or work because of something they ate. Foodborne illness can be a matter of life and death for children, pregnant women, the elderly and people who have weakened immune systems.

Foodborne Illness Statistics

Foodborne pathogens are organisms that cause disease. How dangerous do you think foodborne pathogens are? The Centers for Disease Control (CDC, 2014 ) reported cases of foodborne illness over a 1 year period:

We should remember many people do not report their illness for a number of reasons. Some may not realize they have a foodborne illness and others do not want to report they were responsible for making their family or friends sick. According to the CDC, for every one case of salmonella reported, there are about 38 cases that are not. Currently there are at least 30 different microorganisms that can be related to foodborne illness.