Most Common Places to Get Food Poisoning in America

Posted in Food Safety,Our Blog on May 11, 2025

Most people don’t eat fast food because it’s good for us, but that doesn’t mean we think of it as an urgent health risk. In some cases, however, it can be, as several McDonald’s customers learned the hard way when they found themselves seriously ill after eating Quarter Pounders in late 2024.

The culprit was onions tainted with E. coli, according to a December 2024 report from the Food and Drug Administration. The bacteria, which causes fever, vomiting, and diarrhea, can lead to severe health consequences. On Oct. 22, 2024, the onion distributor, Taylor Farms, initiated a voluntary recall of the contaminated veggies, but the outbreak had already done serious damage. Per the FDA, there were a total of 104 illnesses, which resulted in 34 hospitalizations and one death.

If you think simply avoiding fast food will keep you from getting sick, you’d be mistaken. The reality is that foodborne illness can strike anywhere. Shortly before McDonald’s patrons were sickened by burger toppings, a popular Los Angeles restaurant was forced to temporarily close amid a Salmonella outbreak that infected 44 people. In that case, the source of the outbreak was unclear.

These stories may be harrowing, but they’re not uncommon. As it turns out, about 1 in 6 Americans gets sick from foodborne illness every year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Of those 48 million people, 128,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 die.

Local and state health departments play a major role in outbreak prevention in the United States. Numerous municipalities and counties deploy inspectors to retail food establishments to create publicly available reports about the location’s sanitary conditions. The more infractions the inspector finds, the lower the resulting score. Infractions are often weighted on their severity or likelihood of causing foodborne illnesses.

In Los Angeles County, for instance, food kept at the wrong temperature would cost four points; however, a more minor violation (like an employee leaving their coffee cup near a food preparation area) would only cost one, according to a 2023 Los Angeles Times article. If the infraction is severe enough—like a restaurant operating without running water—an inspector might shut it down on the spot.

While Los Angeles restaurant managers must post their letter grades on the establishment’s front window, the grading system varies nationwide. Columbus, Ohio, uses a color-coded system (a yellow sign may cause patrons to pause and consider eating elsewhere); King County, which encompasses Seattle, uses emojis in a bid to make it easier for immigrants to understand the restaurant’s rating. Many health departments post their reports on their websites detailing each violation for patrons wanting to know how a restaurant’s score was calculated.

The grading systems and the public pressure they put on restaurant operators seem effective. In the year following the program’s implementation, there was a 13% decrease in hospitalizations due to foodborne disease in Los Angeles County, according to one study published in the Journal of Environmental Health.

What is Food Poisoning?

Food poisoning, a type of foodborne illness, is a sickness people get from something they ate or drank. The causes are germs or other harmful things in the food or beverage.

Symptoms of food poisoning often include upset stomach, diarrhea and vomiting. Symptoms usually start within hours or several days of eating the food. Most people have mild illness and get better without treatment. Sometimes food poisoning causes severe illness or complications.

Symptoms vary depending on what is causing the illness. They may begin within a few hours or a few weeks depending on the cause.

Common symptoms are:

• Upset stomach.
• Vomiting.
• Diarrhea.
• Diarrhea with bloody stools.
• Stomach pain and cramps.
• Fever.
• Headache.

Less often food poisoning affects the nervous system and can cause severe disease. Symptoms may include:

• Blurred or double vision.
• Headache.
• Loss of movement in limbs.
• Problems with swallowing.
• Tingling or numbness of skin.
• Weakness.
• Changes in sound of the voice.

Vomiting and diarrhea can quickly cause low levels of body fluids, also called dehydration, in infants and children. This can cause serious illness in infants.

Call your child’s health care provider if your child’s symptoms include vomiting and diarrhea and any of the following:

• Unusual changes in behavior or thinking.
• Excessive thirst.
• Little or no urination.
• Weakness.
• Dizziness.
• Diarrhea that lasts more than a day.
• Vomiting often.
• Stools that have blood or pus.
• Stools that are black or tarry.
• Severe pain in the stomach or rectum.
• Any fever in children under 2 years of age.
• Fever of 102 degrees Fahrenheit (38.9 degrees Celsius) or higher in older children.
• History of other medical problems.

Adults should see a health care provider or get emergency care if the following occur:

• Nervous system symptoms, such as blurry vision, muscle weakness and tingling of skin.
• Changes in thinking or behavior.
• Fever of 103 degrees Fahrenheit (39.4 degrees Celsius).
• Vomiting often.
• Diarrhea that lasts more than three days.
• Symptoms of dehydration — excessive thirst, dry mouth, little or no urination, severe weakness, dizziness, or lightheadedness.

For more information about food safety please keep an eye on Make Food Safe.