Protecting families from contaminated food and water
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Protecting families from contaminated food and water
Posted in Food Safety,Our Blog on May 29, 2025
Have you ever wanted to comb through outbreak data like the pros do?
The comprehensive database has just been updated. You can now sort through outbreaks involving bacteria, parasites, viruses, and chemicals spread through food and other means.
All with the click of a mouse. Or even the tap of your fingertip.
It is mobile friendly!
It is the BEAM Dashboard? What is it used for?
BEAM stands for Bacteria, Enterics, Ameba, and Mycotics. All the germs included in this outbreak data system.
This dashboard provides statistical outbreak data useful for a variety of purposes.
It is primarily used by public health investigators and associates to identify trends in these types of illnesses. If a particular foodborne bug is showing significantly higher than normal rates of illness, for example. This could be a sign of a large-scale contamination event.
One like the long-term Listeria outbreaks associated with the Rizo-López Foods queso fresco cheese or Boar’s Head deli meat outbreak.
Some research studies perform actual experiments. Other research studies gather data. These are usually called case studies.
Outbreak data presented in the BEAM dashboard provides data by pathogen, serotype, and historical trends. The NORS (National Outbreak Reporting System) provides this data for recent illnesses as well. It isn’t in “real-time,” as there is a delay. But usually, the information is only a few months behind, as it is updated quarterly.
Even if you are not a public health employee or foodborne illness researcher, this data is available to you.
The public.
While you can’t un-know something once you know it, and some of these illness statistics are quite concerning, it is a pretty cool platform to play around with.
You can sort by germ, year, trends, and more!
What state had the most Salmonella outbreaks in 2022? Pennsylvania, with 17 outbreaks.
How many norovirus outbreaks were in your state in 2024? In Texas, there were 20.
How many reports of foodborne illness have been reported this year so far? As of data available up to March 2025, there have been 9,375 reported cases of Salmonella, Campylobacter, STEC, Shigella, and Vibro.
So, what are the most commonly reported foodborne germs in 2025 so far? The first quarter report provides that information.
Topping the charts is Salmonella, with 6,497 reports. Followed by Shigella and STEC with 1,156 and 1,136 respectively. Then Campylobacter, with 565 reported cases. Vibro comes up at the rear with 21 reported cases.
Salmonella is the bacteria responsible for the illness salmonellosis. Symptoms of Salmonella infections can begin anywhere from six hours to six days after exposure.
Most people experience diarrhea, fever, and stomach cramps that last about a week (four to seven days).
Shigella is a bacteria often associated with foodborne infections. Symptoms begin about a day or two after consuming something contaminated with Shigella bacteria.
Most people experience fever, stomach pain, or symptoms of feeling like they need to continue to pass stool (poop), despite the bowels being empty. However, diarrhea (sometimes bloody), is the most coming symptom. Diarrhea may last more than three days with Shigella illness. Most people feel better within a week and recover on their own without needing to see a doctor or specific medication.
STEC is one of the more serious E. coli infections. Common symptoms of STEC illness include vomiting, diarrhea (often bloody), severe stomach cramps, and if present, a fever of less than 101° F.
Most people begin feeling sick around three to four days after exposure and begin feeling better around a week after symptoms begin.
Campylobacter infections, known as campylobacteriosis, often present with diarrheal symptoms. This includes diarrhea (often bloody), fever, headache, and stomach cramps. Some may also experience nausea and vomiting.
Campylobacter symptoms generally begin around 2 to 5 days after exposure and last about a week.
Vibrio symptoms can begin anywhere from four hours to four days after exposure. But onset is usually around 24 hours after consuming something contaminated with the bacteria.
Common symptoms include diarrhea and vomiting. However, these bacteria can cause serious illness if it reaches the bloodstream. In this case, as many as one in five people die from their infection. Others may require limb amputations.
None of those illnesses sound fun at all. To keep those infections from happening, or at least do our part to prevent them, there are a few important things that you can do to prevent foodborne illness.
The CDC breaks them down into four steps. Clean. Separate. Cook. Chill. All with food safety in mind.
Wash your hands, utensils, cutting boards, and countertops. Germs can lurk in so many places on food and throughout your kitchen. Keeping yourself, tools, and surfaces clean can reduce potential cross-contamination.
You should also clean your fresh fruits and vegetables. Rinse them under running water to remove dirt and wash away potential germs.
Keeping high risk foods separate to avoid cross-contamination is another key step in food safety.
Raw meat, poultry, seafood, and even eggs can spread germs to ready-to-eat items.
Keep them separate in your shopping cart while you walk through the grocery store, in separate bags while you are transporting them home, and away from ready-to-eat food in your fridge. Store in a leak-proof container on a lower shelf to prevent potential spread of germs from leaking “juices.”
Heat is an effective way to kill germs. Always cook food to an appropriate internal temperature. Measure with a food thermometer to ensure you have it hot enough.
Even leftovers or food cooked in a microwave should meet the minimum internal temperatures.
Keep cold foods cold. Below 40° F. Above that temperature (and below 140° F) is a temperature range food scientists call the “Danger Zone.” Harmful microbes begin rapidly reproducing in that temperature range.
Food left in that Danger Zone for more than two hours (one hour if ambient temperatures are above 90° F) should be disposed.
Keep your refrigerator at or below 40° F and your freezer at or below 0° F to ensure food is stored at an appropriate temperature.
When storing leftovers, place small portions of food in shallow containers so that it can chill faster.
If you need to thaw frozen food, the safest place to do so is in the refrigerator. There are also methods to thaw frozen food in cold water or in the microwave. But NEVER thaw food on the counter. Parts of the food will reach the danger zone, increasing the risk of foodborne illness.
Now that you know where the pro’s get outbreak data from, you can know what they know.
To an extent.
Or. You can follow the Make Food Safe blog, where we curate great food safety information.
If you’d like to know more about food safety topics in the news, like “Outbreak Data Through 2023 Now Available to the Public,” 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)