What to know
IFSAC reports use outbreak data to produce annual estimates for foods responsible for foodborne illnesses.
About the reports
These reports use outbreak data to produce annual estimates for foods responsible for foodborne illnesses caused by four pathogens. CDC estimates that, together, these four pathogens cause 1.9 million foodborne illnesses in the United States each year. The analysis uses a method developed by IFSAC to estimate foodborne illness source attribution, which is the process of estimating the degree to which specific foods and food categories are responsible for foodborne illnesses.
Current and past reports
Latest report for 2022
IFSAC analyzed data from 48,375 illnesses linked to 1,355 foodborne disease outbreaks that occurred from 1998 through 2022 and for which each confirmed or suspected implicated food was assigned to a single food category. The method relies most heavily on the last five years of outbreak data (2018–2022). Foods are categorized using a scheme IFSAC created that classifies foods into 17 categories that closely align with the U.S. food regulatory agencies' classification needs.
Previous reports
Suggested citation
Interagency Food Safety Analytics Collaboration. Foodborne illness source attribution estimates for {Year} for Salmonella, Escherichia coli O157, and Listeria monocytogenes using multi-year outbreak surveillance data, United States. Atlanta, Georgia and Washington, District of Columbia: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, CDC, FDA, USDA/FSIS. {Publication Year, example: 2024.}