Most people do not report food poisoning when they become sick. As a result, only those sick enough to require medical intervention prompt a foodborne illness investigation. This makes it more difficult to track down the source of the illness, leaving more consumers vulnerable to potentially tainted food.
Washington residents now have a new way to report food poisoning. This new tool is called The Foodborne Illness Notification System (FINS) and it is already available for use!
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 48 million people become sick with a foodborne infection in the United States each year! That is roughly 1 in every 6 Americans.
1 in 6 Americans become sick will a foodborne illness each year
Additionally, 128,000 of those illnesses are serious enough to require hospitalization and around 3,000 will die of those foodborne diseases.
These statistics, however, are only estimates. The true number of illnesses is unknown because the majority of people do not report food poisoning unless they are very sick.
There are many different reasons why people do not report food poisoning when they become sick.
Most of the time, illness is so mild that it is a minor inconvenience.
Other times people attribute food poisoning to something else. That notorious stomach bug or stomach flu.
Though, the majority of food poisoning cases aren’t reported because the individual is unable to attribute their illness to a specific cause. While many assume the food that caused their tummy troubles was the last thing they ate, it very well could have been something they consumed the week before.
I also recently learned that when food poisoning happens on a cruise ship, it is often not documented in American statistics. The ship may be docked in international ports, on international water, or some other loophole.
Some may not know where to report their illness.
You may think that reporting every upset stomach will be a burden on local health authorities. But the true burden comes from unchecked food safety issues.
There are 31 known foodborne pathogens and countless opportunities for those bad bugs to get into your food and make you sick. This racks up a huge bill.
The Economic Research Service (ERS), an agency within the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimates that the bill for foodborne illness is estimated at $15.5 Billion annually.
Yes. That is Billion. With a “B.”
That’s right. Illnesses such as Salmonella, Toxoplasma gondii, Listeria monocytogenes, norovirus, and Campylobacter add up to a huge economic burden.
A significant impact to this statistic lies in more vulnerable populations. Certain groups of people are more likely to become sick if exposed and experience more serious illness if infected.
People are categorized into these higher risk groups due to compromised immune systems, susceptibility, and other factors.
These groups include:
For Washington State residents and visitors, reporting food poisoning is only a click away.
A new website, https://redcap.doh.wa.gov/surveys/?s=L7THW4XYPDE9NYNC makes the process simple, easy, and stress free.
After clicking the link for the survey website (now is a good time to bookmark this link for future use), you will be asked if you are a robot.
If you need to report food poisoning you are likely not a robot, so click the box indicating such.
Next, you will be asked to enter some basic information about why you are reporting food poisoning, your contact information (so the agency can follow up as needed), and where you believe caused the illness.
You will be asked what you ate and about what time. Whether you dined in, out, or had delivery. More questions about your symptoms, what other foods you have consumed over a 3-day period, and other pertinent questions.
It only takes a moment to help report food poisoning cases that can save future illnesses and even save lives!
In the state of Washington, the local health department is responsible for managing complaints of foodborne illness. That can be a huge building with many offices. It can be confusing.
An easy-to-use website makes it accessible and easy to find.
“Any retail food establishment is regulated by the local health department,” says Alyssa Pilot, a public health advisor for Department of Health’s food safety program. But people may not understand where to go if they need to report food poisoning. “We wanted to close that gap and provide one location for consumers in Washington to report those types of things with the confidence knowing it will get to the right people.”
She expects that the new program will lead to an increase in the number of reported cases.
The New Program is Expected to Increase the Number of Reported Cases
An added benefit of the state-wide program is helping identify the source of an outbreak that spans different counties. Scattered cases may not appear as clusters of illnesses for a longer period of time under the previous process. A state-wide database allows for more inclusive data collection.
The survey is currently available in English as well as Spanish, though additional languages will likely be added soon.
Unfortunately, reporting instances of food poisoning through the Foodborne Illness Notification System will not prompt medical care.
Common symptoms that may lead to complications include:
If you become seriously ill, Washington Department of Health advises you to seek medical help. Those with bloody diarrhea or diarrhea lasting more than three days should see their healthcare provider.
If you’d like to know more about food safety topics in the news, like “Washington Residents Now Have a New Way to Report Food Poisoning,” check out the Make Food Safe Blog. We regularly update trending topics, foodborne infections in the news, recalls, and more! Stay tuned for quality information to help keep your family safe, while The Lange Law Firm, PLLC strives to Make Food Safe!
By: Heather Van Tassell (contributing writer, non-lawyer)
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