Avoid These Foods Right Now — the 10 ‘Really Risky’ Items Causing Illness, According to Consumer Reports
. . .While food poisoning can have many sources, certain foods can make mealtime seem like playing intestinal roulette.
A new survey by Consumer Reports has named the 10 riskiest foods in the US based on their recalls and track record of making people sick. . .
The stomach-churning report comes following a 41% increase in food recalls due to “possible contamination with salmonella, E. coli, and listeria in 2024 compared with the year before,” CR reported. Meanwhile, confirmed cases of foodborne illness soared by 20 percent while associated hospitalizations and deaths more than doubled from the same time last year.
At the top of the food poisoning pyramid was deli meat, which resulted in 165 illnesses and 87 hospitalizations due to listeria. This innocuous-seeming sandwich staple makes consistent appearances on CR lists due to its frequent handling and the fact that listeria bacteria are frequently found at processing plants and on deli counters. . .
Cucumbers can put one’s stomach in quite a pickle. According to CR, salmonella found in this healthy-seeming veggie torpedo was responsible for over 664 reported illnesses and 173 reported hospitalizations in 2024. Thankfully, no deaths were reported. . .
Raw milk and raw cheese made the food poisoning pantheon with over 182 illnesses and 29 hospitalizations due to E. coli and salmonella collectively. The culprits were unpasteurized milk products from Raw Farms, which resulted in an outbreak due to salmonella in milk and cream, and another caused by E. coli in raw cheddar cheese. (Read more from “Avoid These Foods Right Now — the 10 ‘Really Risky’ Items Causing Illness, According to Consumer Reports” HERE)