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How to Report Food Poisoning - Consumer Reports
You can help stop an outbreak by letting health officials know when you may have become sick from something you ate
If you’re suffering through a bout of foodborne illness, it can be hard to think about anything other than the quickest path to your bathroom. But once you’re able to, it’s worth letting health officials know you suspect that something you ate made you sick. They may be able to trace the illness to food you purchased from a restaurant or grocery store.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 1 in 6 Americans annually is sickened by harmful bacteria or viruses that were in the food. That’s far more than the number of illnesses that are reported. If more people let their doctors, local health departments, or federal health agencies know they may have eaten tainted food, it would increase the chance that officials could take action to protect consumers in real time and in the future.
“Reporting helps the CDC and other agencies identify tainted food and remove it from commerce, and track illnesses,” says James E. Rogers, Ph.D., director of food safety and research at Consumer Reports. “It also potentially offers them more information that will help them figure out how the food became contaminated in the first place.”
You can help stop an outbreak by letting health officials know when you may have become sick from something you ate
If you’re suffering through a bout of foodborne illness, it can be hard to think about anything other than the quickest path to your bathroom. But once you’re able to, it’s worth letting health officials know you suspect that something you ate made you sick. They may be able to trace the illness to food you purchased from a restaurant or grocery store.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 1 in 6 Americans annually is sickened by harmful bacteria or viruses that were in the food. That’s far more than the number of illnesses that are reported. If more people let their doctors, local health departments, or federal health agencies know they may have eaten tainted food, it would increase the chance that officials could take action to protect consumers in real time and in the future.
“Reporting helps the CDC and other agencies identify tainted food and remove it from commerce, and track illnesses,” says James E. Rogers, Ph.D., director of food safety and research at Consumer Reports. “It also potentially offers them more information that will help them figure out how the food became contaminated in the first place.”