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Increasing amount of imported food linked to illness

A new study from the Center for Disease Control says as demand for imported foods has grown so has the amount of foodborne disease outbreaks.

Lead researcher Hannah Gould tells Brownfield there are more foods imported into the U.S. than ever before.  “Much of our food in the U.S. is imported, including nearly all of our fish and shellfish, about 97 percent, about half of fresh fruits and about a fifth of fresh vegetables.”

She says products are coming from all over the globe, but the study did find outbreaks in fish and seafood most likely were linked to Asia and most of the outbreaks in fresh produce were from places in Latin America and the Caribbean.  Gould says the most common disease outbreaks were scombroid toxin, which develops when fish are help at the wrong temperature and is an early sign of decay, and Salmonella.

Gould says the study did not compare domestic foods linked to foodborne illnesses versus imported food.

She says all food should be treated equally at home which means cleaning produce before eating, keeping raw meat, poultry and fish separate from produce, cooking food to the correct temperature using a meat thermometer as well as keeping cold food cold and hot food hot.

AUDIO: Interview with Hannah Gould