Some Meats May Make You Sick, Produce Even Worse

Meats like chicken and ground beef are common place round the table at supper time, but they're also most likely to get consumers sick, according to a new report.

At the top of the list was chicken. Between 1998 and 2010, chicken products, including roasted, grilled and ground chicken, were definitively linked to 452 outbreaks of foodborne illness and 6,896 cases of illness in the United States, according to the report. 

Ground beef came in second: The product was linked to 336 outbreaks and 3,801 cases of illness over the same time period.

The report discussed other high-risk products, which included turkey and steak, that are responsible for between 130 and 182 outbreaks. Deli meats, pork and roast beef were also considered medium-risk products and linked to about 60 to 130 outbreaks, while ham, sausage and chicken nuggets were low risk and linked between 34 to 57 outbreaks, according to reports.

Sarah Klein, CSPI senior food safety attorney, urged Americans to "practice defensive eating" by assuming all meats are hazardous, and taking extra caution in handling, preparing and serving meats.

The report is based on information from 1,714 outbreaks that involved 33,372 illnesses in the United States. Each meat product was given a score based on the number of illnesses it caused and the likelihood that people who became ill from eating the product would become hospitalized. 

Yet researchers caution that the findings are limited because the vast majority of people who fall ill from eating contaminated meat products do not visit the doctor and cannot be included in a report, according to Caroline Smith DeWall, the food safety director at CSPI.

The bacteria Salmonella and E. coli O157:H7 were responsible for about a third of illnesses, the report said. These pathogens most often contaminate meat products during slaughter or meat processing, the report says. The bacteria Clostridium perfringens, which can grow on food that sits out for too long and can cause illness if leftovers are not properly cooked, was responsible for another third of illnesses.

However, it's important to note that over the last decade, the biggest source of foodborne illness has been produce eaten raw by consumers.

The report, from the advocacy organization Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), ranks meat products based on their likelihood of causing severe illness.