Table 4. Overarching food categories of implicated food vehicles in outbreaks reported to Foodborne Disease Outbreak Surveillance System, United States, 2009–2018*.
| Characteristic | Land animals | Aquatic animals | Plants | Unassignable† | Other‡ | p value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All etiologies | <0.01 | |||||
| Highest reporters | 214 (24.4) | 192 (21.8) | 138 (15.7) | 314 (35.7) | 21 (2.4) | |
| Middle reporters | 522 (27.2)) | 335 (17.5) | 290 (15.1) | 704 (36.7) | 66 (3.4) | |
| Lowest reporters |
51 (31.1) |
11 (6.7) |
24 (14.6) |
73 (44.5) |
5 (3.1) |
|
| Norovirus | 0.26 | |||||
| Highest reporters | 16 (6.5) | 27 (10.9) | 55 (22.2) | 136 (54.8) | 14 (5.7) | |
| Middle reporters | 15 (3.5) | 31 (7.3) | 85 (20.0) | 261 (61.4) | 33 (7.8) | |
| Lowest reporters |
1 (5.0) |
3 (15.0) |
4 (20.0) |
12 (60.0) |
0 |
|
| Salmonella | 0.61 | |||||
| Highest reporters | 63 (52.5) | 1 (0.8) | 18 (15.0) | 36 (30.0) | 2 (1.7) | |
| Middle reporters | 165 (52.6) | 10 (3.2) | 41 (13.1) | 88 (28.0) | 10 (3.2) | |
| Lowest reporters |
22 (51.2) |
3 (7.0) |
4 (9.3) |
12 (27.9) |
2 (4.7) |
|
| Bacterial toxins§ | 0.89 | |||||
| Highest reporters | 45 (42.9) | 1 (1.0) | 10 (9.5) | 49 (46.7) | 0 | |
| Middle reporters | 115 (41.8) | 3 (1.1) | 31 (11.3) | 121 (44.0) | 5 (1.8) | |
| Lowest reporters |
6 (35.3) |
0 |
3 (17.7) |
8 (47.1) |
0 |
|
| STEC O157 | 0.65 | |||||
| Highest reporters | 11 (50.0) | 0 | 7 (31.8) | 4 (18.2) | 0 | |
| Middle reporters | 37 (61.7) | 1 (1.7) | 16 (26.7) | 6 (10.0) | 0 | |
| Lowest reporters |
5 (83.3) |
0 |
0 |
1 (16.7) |
0 |
|
| Other known | 0.01 | |||||
| Highest reporters | 67 (24.5) | 143 (52.2) | 31 (11.3) | 32 (11.7) | 1 (0.4) | |
| Middle reporters | 137 (25.6) | 265 (49.4) | 68 (12.7) | 57 (10.6) | 9 (1.7) | |
| Lowest reporters |
7 (30.4) |
3 (13.0) |
7 (30.4) |
5 (21.7) |
1 (4.4) |
|
| Unknown | 0.06 | |||||
| Highest reporters | 12 (10.9) | 20 (18.2) | 17 (15.5) | 57 (51.8) | 4 (3.6) | |
| Middle reporters | 53 (17.3) | 25 (8.1) | 49 (16.0) | 171 (55.7) | 9 (2.9) | |
| Lowest reporters | 10 (18.2) | 2 (3.6) | 6 (10.9) | 35 (63.6) | 2 (3.6) |
*Values are no. (%) except as indicated. p values are determined by χ2 test. †A food or foods were implicated, but the contaminated ingredient was not determined so a food category could not be assigned or >1 food category was implicated using the Interagency Food Safety Analytics Collaboration categorization scheme (10). ‡Includes foods that were unclassifiable using food categories defined by the Interagency Food Safety Analytics Collaboration. §Bacterial toxin outbreaks include Clostridium perfringens, Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus.