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323 BCE
Salmonella
Scientist believe that this was the first foodborn ilness, as Alexander the Great died from typhoid fever in 323 B.C. which is caused by the bacteria Salmonella Typhi, which can be contracted from contaminated food or water. -
Botulism
n 1919, three deadly outbreaks of botulism caused by consumption of canned olives packed in California captured national headlines. In all of the outbreaks, which occurred in separate locales, unsuspecting people died after consuming tainted food during a banquet or family meal. -
Streptococcus
On March 25, 1922, a two-year-old Portland child “with the clinical picture of sore throat and acute encephalitis” died. Over the next days, nearly 500 people would be infected and 21 more children would die in an outbreak of foodborne disease that was both quick and deadly. -
E.Coli
In January 1993, the Washington State Department of Health launched an investigation into an uncommonly high incidence of hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) among Seattle-area children. It traced the source of their illnesses back to E. coli O157: H7 bacteria that had contaminated hamburger patties sold at area Jack in the Box restaurants. -
Listeria
The 2011 United States listeriosis outbreak was a widespread outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes food poisoning across 28 US states that resulted from contaminated cantaloupes linked to Jensen Farms of Holly, Colorado. As of the final report on August 27, 2012, there were 33 deaths and 147 total confirmed cases since the beginning of the first recorded case on July 31, 2011. -
Hepatitis
An outbreak of hepatitis A at Tropical Smoothie Cafe restaurants affected nine states. The CDCTrusted Source reported that 143 people became ill after drinking smoothies made with frozen strawberries imported from Egypt. Of these, 56 were hospitalized. No deaths were reported from the outbreak.
