Don’t read this if you like hamburgers.
Ugh. Spinach.
The Most Boring Vegetable
Think You Like Peanut Butter?
We all love our Peanut Butter, but it’s possible to get salmonella from it, making that tasty snack just a little bit scary. In 2008, America had its largest food recall ever when there was a massive salmonella outbreak tied to the Peanut Butter Corporation of America. They shipped peanut butter to schools, prisons, and hospitals, resulting in over 700 sick people and 9 deaths. An estimated half of that number were children. Turns out, the facilities were not up to par, so the owners were convicted and the company bankrupted.
An Unsolved Mystery
Chipotle just might be one of the best chain around, but as recently as 2015, it was a scary place to visit. They had a total of about 60 people get sick in two different outbreaks, and no one knows what caused it.
Fast Food Is Really Bad For You
A Dangerous Church Potluck
Bradford Sweet’s Peppermint Lollipops
Cold Cuts in Canada
German Sprouts
Baby Formula in China
In an extremely sad and terrifying incident, thousands of infants were hospitalized. In China, a baby formula manufacturing company used melamine to cut corners, resulting in serious kidney problems in the infants who drank the milk. Almost 300,000 infants were affected, with 6 dying from the poisoning. The repercussions for those who cause the poisoning were extremely severe.
Tropical Smoothie Strawberries
Steer Clear of Raw Milk
Jalapeño Problems
Can’t Eat That
Cantaloupes are one of the sweetest, best-tasting fruits around. They’re also the source of one of the deadliest Listeria outbreaks in history. In 2011, Jensen Farms distributed 300,000 cantaloupes to major retailers like Walmart. 147 people got sick, one person suffered a miscarriage, and 33 people died. Jensen Farms went bankrupt.
Don’t Touch That Turkey Sandwich
Forget About Frozen Strawberries
Contaminated Onions
In 2003, a now-closed restaurant chain called Chi Chi’s unknowingly served up contaminated green onions in their salsa and chili con queso. The effects were staggering. Over 650 people were infected and four people died. It was the largest outbreak of Hepatitis A the nation has ever seen.
Image via: Wikipedia.
Hillfarm Dairy Milk
We know to wash our hands well after handling chicken because of the salmonella, but salmonella is present in many other foods. In 1985, the nation saw the largest outbreak of salmonella yet when 16,000 were infected after drinking raw Hillfarm Dairy Milk. Most of the infected were from Illinois. Nine people died.
What’s in a Hot Dog?
What’s in a hot dog? While we’re not really sure what they are, we know they sometimes carry Listeria. From 1989 to 1999, over 100 people got sick from eating hot dogs, resulting in 14 adult deaths and 4 miscarriages. All of the infected hot dogs were traced back to a facility owned by Sara Lee. Sara Lee faced severe criminal charges.