Chicken, turkey and other poultry are responsible for more food-related deaths than any other items, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
Poultry caused about 19 percent of food-borne fatalities in the 10 years through 2008, the CDC said Tuesday in a study that marks the first time the agency has estimated how many illnesses can be attributed to specific foods. Dairy accounted for 10 percent of deaths and vine-stalk vegetables such as peppers were responsible for 7 percent.While fatalities are more common with meat, leaf vegetables such as spinach caused more illnesses than any other product and the second-most hospitalizations after dairy. Large outbreaks during the study period include E. coli traced to spinach and lettuce, and salmonella in tomatoes and peppers. The CDC said the findings show a need to focus more on preventing contamination of produce and poultry.Have more to add? News tip? Tell us
