Food safety spans contaminated food, foodborne disease, chemical exposure, household practices, surveillance and recalls. The figures below distinguish modeled estimates, reported surveillance cases and self-reported survey results across the world, the United States and the European Union.
Key Food Safety Statistics
The most useful headline figures are:
- 866 million people worldwide fall ill after eating contaminated food each year, according to the current WHO estimate.
- 1.52 million deaths worldwide are attributed to unsafe food each year in the current WHO estimate.
- US$310 billion is the estimated annual global productivity and medical cost of unsafe food, according to WHO.
- Children under 5 account for 29% of the global health burden from unsafe food in the WHO estimate.
- 9.9 million domestically acquired foodborne illnesses were estimated in the United States in 2019 across six major pathogens in the CDC model.
- The seven pathogens assessed by CDC produced an estimated 53,300 U.S. hospitalizations in 2019.
- The same seven pathogens produced an estimated 931 U.S. deaths in 2019.
- Norovirus caused an estimated 5.54 million U.S. foodborne illnesses in 2019.
- The European Union recorded 148,181 campylobacteriosis cases in 2023, equal to 45.7 per 100,000 people.
- EU countries reported 5,691 foodborne outbreaks in 2023, involving 52,127 human cases, 2,894 hospitalizations and 65 deaths.
- FoodNet identified 31,492 infections in its expanded U.S. catchment during 2023, which represented 53.6 million people, or 16% of the U.S. population.
- 78% of FoodNet bacterial infections were diagnosed by culture-independent diagnostic tests in 2023, including 46% diagnosed only by those tests.
- 93% of U.S. adults surveyed in October–November 2019 thought raw chicken was likely or highly likely to have germs.
- 76% of U.S. adults surveyed in October–November 2019 reported washing with soap after touching raw meat.
- 85% of applicable U.S. thermometer owners reported using a thermometer for whole chickens in October–November 2019.
- USDA-FSIS recorded 65 meat and poultry recalls involving 4,005,384 pounds in calendar year 2023.
Contents
- Global food safety burden
- U.S. foodborne illness statistics
- EU food safety surveillance
- U.S. food safety surveillance trends
- Consumer food safety practices
- Food recalls and control outcomes
Global Food Safety Statistics and the Worldwide Burden
The WHO describes unsafe food as a cause of more than 200 diseases, ranging from diarrhoea to cancers. Its figures are burden estimates rather than counts of diagnosed cases, and their global scope differs from national surveillance systems.
- WHO estimates that 866 million people worldwide fall ill after eating contaminated food each year.
- Unsafe food is estimated to cause 1.52 million deaths worldwide each year.
- The estimated global productivity and medical cost of unsafe food is US$310 billion per year; this is not a direct measure of household spending.
- Children under 5 experience 29% of the global health burden from unsafe food, which is a share of health burden rather than a share of cases.
- Unsafe food was associated with 143,000 deaths among children under 5 worldwide in 2021, according to WHO’s estimate.
- Dietary exposure to arsenic and lead was associated with 1 million cardiovascular deaths worldwide in 2021 and 124,000 cancer deaths worldwide in 2021.
Source: WHO, Food safety.
U.S. Foodborne Illness Statistics by Pathogen
CDC’s 2019 burden model estimated domestically acquired illness in the United States, not confirmed diagnoses. The six-pathogen illness total excludes Toxoplasma because nationally notifiable illness data were unavailable, while the hospitalization and death estimate covers seven assessed pathogens.
| Pathogen or group | Estimated illnesses, 2019 | Hospitalizations, 2019 | Deaths, 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Norovirus | 5.54 million | 22,400 | 174 |
| Campylobacter | 1.87 million | 13,000 | 197 |
| Salmonella | 1.28 million | 12,500 | 238 |
| Clostridium perfringens | 889,000 | — | — |
| STEC | 357,000 | 3,150 | — |
| Seven-pathogen total | — | 53,300 | 931 |
Source: CDC, Estimates: Burden of Foodborne Illness in the United States.
The CDC model estimated 9.9 million domestically acquired foodborne illnesses in 2019 across six major pathogens. It also estimated 53,300 hospitalizations and 931 deaths from the seven pathogens assessed for those outcomes.
- Salmonella caused an estimated 238 deaths in 2019, the highest among the assessed pathogens, followed by Campylobacter with 197 and norovirus with 174.
- Invasive Listeria caused an estimated 1,250 illnesses, 1,070 hospitalizations and 172 deaths in 2019; the measure covers invasive listeriosis only.
- Toxoplasma caused an estimated 848 hospitalizations and 44 deaths in 2019; CDC did not estimate total illnesses because most infections are asymptomatic or mild and prevalence is unknown.
- Non-O157 STEC serogroups represented 76% of estimated STEC illnesses in 2019, compared with 24% for O157.
- The five leading Salmonella serotypes accounted for 23% Enteritidis, 14% Newport, 11% Typhimurium, 7% I 4,[5],12:i:- and 7% Javiana of Salmonella infections in 2019; these shares do not cover all Salmonella.
EU Food Safety Statistics: Zoonoses and Outbreaks
EU surveillance provides reported case counts and rates for 2023. EFSA cautions that comparability can vary among Member States, and outbreak-associated outcomes should not be treated as the complete burden of foodborne illness.
| Reported measure | EU 2023 result | Definition or scope |
|---|---|---|
| Campylobacteriosis | 148,181 cases; 45.7 per 100,000 | Reported surveillance cases |
| Salmonellosis | 77,486 cases; 18 per 100,000 | Reported surveillance cases |
| STEC infections | 10,217 cases; 3.1 per 100,000 | Reported surveillance cases |
| Yersiniosis | 8,738 cases; 2.4 per 100,000 | Reported surveillance cases |
| Invasive listeriosis | 2,952 cases; 0.66 per 100,000 | Confirmed invasive cases |
Source: EFSA, The European Union One Health 2023 Zoonoses Report.
EU countries reported 5,691 foodborne outbreaks in 2023. Those outbreaks involved 52,127 reported human cases, 2,894 hospitalizations and 65 deaths, all of which are outbreak-associated reported outcomes.
- Salmonella was associated with 17 multi-country EU outbreaks in 2023, representing 81% of the total for that category.
- Only 15 EU Member States met all established Salmonella-reduction targets in poultry in 2023, down from 19 in 2022; this is a compliance measure, not poultry prevalence.
- Less than 1% of ready-to-eat food samples in every reported category exceeded the Listeria safety limit of 100 CFU/g in 2023; fermented meat-origin sausages were highest at 0.78%.
- Invasive listeriosis had a 96.5% hospitalization rate and a 19.7% mortality rate in 2023 among reported invasive cases, not among general foodborne illness cases.
U.S. Food Safety Surveillance Trends and Diagnostic Coverage
FoodNet counts laboratory-diagnosed infections in defined surveillance catchments, so they are not national totals and include travel-associated infections unless otherwise stated. The expanded catchment is not directly comparable with the historic catchment.
| FoodNet measure | Historic catchment, 2023 | Expanded catchment, 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Infections | 29,607 | 31,492 |
| Hospitalizations | 7,234 | 7,588 |
| Deaths | 177 | 184 |
| Population coverage | Historic 10-site area | 53.6 million people; 16% of U.S. population |
International travel was associated with 15% of FoodNet cases in both catchments in 2023. That association does not prove the acquisition location for every individual case.
- 78% of bacterial infections in the historic FoodNet catchment were diagnosed by culture-independent diagnostic tests in 2023, including 46% diagnosed only by those tests.
- The share of CIDT-diagnosed infections with an attempted reflex culture fell from 71% in 2016–2018 to 68% in 2023.
- Campylobacter speciation declined from 33% in 2016–2018 to 26% in 2023, while Shigella speciation declined from 65% to 41%.
- Among 8,454 FoodNet Salmonella infections in 2023, 83% yielded an isolate, and 89% of those isolates were fully serotyped.
- FoodNet recorded 61 postdiarrheal HUS cases among people under 18 in 2022, including 39 in children under 5; these HUS data lagged one year in the 2023 report.
Consumer Food Safety Statistics: Perceptions and Practices
FDA’s 2019 Food Safety and Nutrition Survey covered 4,398 U.S. adults aged 18 and older surveyed in October–November 2019. Results are weighted, self-reported responses, so they measure perceptions and reported practices rather than observed kitchen behavior or measured contamination.
| Survey measure | Reported share, U.S. adults, 2019 |
|---|---|
| Thought home-preparation food poisoning was very common | 15% |
| Thought restaurant-preparation food poisoning was very common | 29% |
| Thought raw chicken was likely or highly likely to have germs | 93% |
| Thought raw beef was likely or highly likely to have germs | 66% |
| Thought raw vegetables were likely or highly likely to have germs | 9% |
| Thought fruit was likely or highly likely to have germs | 6% |
Source: FDA, 2019 Food Safety and Nutrition Survey Report.
Awareness was 97% for Salmonella and 88% for E. coli among surveyed adults, compared with 7% for Campylobacter and 4% for Vibrio. Awareness percentages are self-reported and do not measure knowledge accuracy or behavior.
Reported handwashing varied by task:
- 76% reported washing with soap after touching raw meat.
- 68% reported washing with soap before food preparation.
- 39% reported washing with soap after cracking raw eggs.
Among thermometer owners who cooked the relevant item, reported use was 85% for whole chickens and 79% for beef, lamb or pork roasts. Usage was lower for chicken parts at 40%, burgers at 36%, egg dishes at 23% and frozen meals at 20%; denominators differed by food.
Food Recalls and Measurable Control Outcomes
USDA-FSIS recorded 65 meat and poultry recalls involving 4,005,384 pounds in calendar year 2023. These figures cover FSIS-regulated meat, poultry and siluriform products, not all U.S. food recalls, and recall classification is not an illness count.
| FSIS 2023 measure | Result |
|---|---|
| Total recalls | 65 |
| Class I recalls | 58 |
| Class II recalls | 7 |
| Public health alerts | 24 |
| Public health alerts for undeclared allergens | 14 |
| Total pounds recalled | 4,005,384 |
Source: FSIS, Summary of Recall and PHA Cases in Calendar Year 2023.
The indexed FSIS annual summary supplied the 2023 tables, while direct page retrieval returned 403; the figures should therefore be read as the published annual-summary values rather than independently rechecked measurements.
- Processing deviations accounted for 3 recalls involving 2,660,154 pounds in 2023.
- Import violations accounted for 16 recalls involving 399,031 pounds.
- Undeclared allergens accounted for 15 recalls involving 232,277 pounds.
- The pound totals included 2,754,625 pounds of mixed-species products, 443,155 pounds of chicken and 280,910 pounds of swine products under FSIS’s classification scheme.
These recall categories describe regulatory actions and affected product quantities, not contamination rates, consumption levels or confirmed illnesses.