Fewer Americans in 2002 than 1998 ate risky foods associated with foodborne disease, according to survey results released today at the International Conference on Emerging Infectious Diseases. The survey also found that certain groups of people were more likely to consume risky foods.

"Overall we are seeing a decline in risky food consumption and that may be attributable to published media reports of foodborne outbreaks and outreach efforts by the public health community," says Erica Weis of the California Department of Health Services, the lead author on the study.

Eating raw eggs is risky. Photo: USDA

The study, based on data of 15,000 to 20,000 people surveyed between 1998 to 2002 from the Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network or otherwise known as FoodNet, found the number of Americans who ate risky foods including undercooked ground beef, raw seafood and runny eggs dropped from 31 percent to 21 percent over the period from 1998 to 2002.

The survey results showed that people under 18 years old with compromised immune systems were more likely to eat risky foods than healthy people, 21 percent vs. 14 percent.

Men age 18 to 64 were more likely to eat risky foods than women of the same ages, 38 percent versus 30 percent. Asians and Pacific islanders were more likely to eat risky foods than whites, 31 percent versus 21 percent.

African Americans were most unlikely to eat risky foods with 15 percent eating risky foods in the week before the survey.

The most commonly reported risky food item consumed was runny eggs, found the survey, conducted by researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention along with California Department of Health Services and other state health agencies.

For the survey, researchers looked at the specific foods they ate in the previous week. Risky foods considered in this study included seven foods associated with E. coli, vibrio, salmonella, and other food borne diseases, namely pink hamburger patties, pink ground beef, raw fresh fish, raw oysters, unpasteurized milk runny eggs and alfalfa sprouts.

"Consumption of risky foods declined significantly in 2002 compared to 1998. However, in the future there needs to be more targeted outreach to those groups that continue to have high levels of risky food consumption," says Weis.

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