Keeping Food Safe: Understand Foodborne Pathogens

Over the past 20 years, we have seen the emergence of many previously unrecognized foodborne pathogens, including Campylobacter jejuni (which is associated with poultry products), Escherichia coli 0157:H7 (found in ground beef), and Listeria monocytogenes (associated with dairy products).

Other less common pathogens included Bacillus cereus, Clostridium botulinum, Clostridium perfringens (found in beef), Shigella, and Staphylococcus aureus (found in pork).³

The products most likely to be contaminated are raw foods of animal origin, such as raw meat and poultry, raw eggs, unpasteurized milk, and raw shellfish.⁴

Unfortunately, treatment is becoming more difficult because of an increase in antibiotic resistance among common foodborne pathogens.⁵