Experts warn of surprisingly dangerous foods lurking in your shopping cart as deadly recalls hit McDonald's and Walmart
Four people have died after eating frozen ready meals contaminated with the deadly bacteria listeria in the last month, triggering an urgent recall from the FDA.
And a similar recall was announced on Monday over cantaloupes feared to contain the same dangerous pathogen.
As it seems more recalls are announced over contamination, undeclared allergens or even metal shards making their way into foods, many fear the US is in the midst of a food-safety crisis.
Experts agree that the danger is real, not because recalls are more frequent, they have held steady at about 300 a year, but because more people are falling ill from foodborne diseases.
To find out which everyday groceries pose the highest risk, Daily Mail spoke to two leading food safety specialists.
Dr Ellen Shumaker, a food safety expert at North Carolina State University, said: 'Recalls happen because of a specific occurrence, whether that is sanitation or the overall food safety culture of a [food processing] facility.
'It is important for consumers to be aware of recall notices, but there are also safe ways to handle foods at home to minimize the risks.'
Both experts warned that deli meats, ready meals, ground beef and raw poultry were a threat, saying these were among the most likely to be recalled for contamination with listeria, salmonella, E.coli and other pathogens.
Shown above is JC Smith, 88, from Grand Junction, Colorado, who died last year after eating a Quarter Pounder burger from McDonald's that was contaminated with E.coli
Pictured above is Clarissa DeBrock, 33, a mother-of-one from Nebraska, who sued McDonald's last year, claiming that their Quarter Pounder burger sickened her amid a nationwide recall of onions
Leafy greens such as romaine lettuce and onions also made the list, with these often contaminated with the same bacteria if they are irrigated with water contaminated with animal feces.
And cantaloupe was named the riskiest, with the fruit tied to the deadliest foodborne disease outbreak in US history.
About 10million Americans are sickened by foodborne diseases every year, the CDC estimates, while 53,000 are hospitalized and 931 die every year.
Experts warn that children under five, older adults, and those with weaker immune systems are particularly at risk from disease.
In most cases, symptoms triggered by infections include stomach cramps, diarrhea, vomiting and nausea. In serious cases, the bacteria can spread to the blood and cause the potentially fatal complication sepsis.
Below is an expert-curated list of foods that pose the highest risk of food-borne illness:
Cantaloupes are considered among the deadliest by experts
Cantaloupes
Despite being a relatively healthy fruit, experts warned that cantaloupes may be the riskiest food in the grocery store.
Cantaloupes were linked to the deadliest foodborne disease outbreak in modern US history in 2011, when cantaloupes laced with listeria killed 33 people and sickened 147 individuals.
Prepared by farmers in Colorado, the outbreak was linked to contaminated machinery that had spread the deadly bacteria on the outside of multiple cantaloupes, which then got into the fruit when they were cut open.
Dr Shumaker told this website that cantaloupes 'weren't on anyone's radar' until the outbreak, and warned that the outbreak was also linked to netting placed on the fruits that had also become contaminated.
Cantaloupes were subject to another listeria recall this week, with 20 cases sold across three Midwestern states recalled over the potential contamination.
To reduce the risk of being sickened by a cantaloupe, experts say individuals should thoroughly clean the outside of the fruit before cutting and eating it.
Ready Meals
Shown above is one of the ready meals in this week's recall (file photo)
A way to avoid cooking and have a quick bite, ready meals have exploded in popularity in recent years, with about 4billion now consumed in the US annually.
But experts have warned that because many are prepared by hand, there is a high risk they could be contaminated with the country's most common foodborne disease, norovirus.
CDC estimates suggest about 5.5million people are sickened by the bug after eating food every year, accounting for more than half of the cases of foodborne illness, while 22,000 are hospitalized and 172 die from the infection.
Dr Shumaker said the contamination may occur if food workers are sick or practice poor hygiene, raising the risk that ready meals are accidentally contaminated with norovirus, which spreads if someone comes into contact with an infected person's fecal particles.
She said it was also possible for ready meals to be contaminated with other diseases, like listeria, due to handling or ingredients used, linking it to this week's recall of frozen pasta ready meals that have sickened 19 and killed four.
In most cases, norovirus causes an infection that lasts for one to three days with symptoms including nausea, diarrhea and stomach cramps.
But in severe cases, the virus may cause the lining of the intestine to stop absorbing fluids and nutrients properly, leading to hospitalization.
Experts advised avoiding ready meals or washing hands thoroughly before cooking and handling food to avoid norovirus. Microwaving the meals can also kill the bacteria, they said, but only if it is heated through thoroughly to 165 degrees Fahrenheit (74 degrees Celsius).
Deli Meats
Ten people died and one woman lost her unborn child amid the major listeria outbreak linked to Boar's Head deli meats last year.
Boar's Head deli meats are pictured above. They were linked to listeria contamination
Experts told this website that deli meats are particularly vulnerable to contamination because they are handled by so many people before being eaten, allowing for more opportunities for them to become contaminated.
They can easily be contaminated with listeria because the bacteria thrives in cool, damp environments, such as refrigerators, where the meats are kept for long periods.
Listeria can survive and multiply at temperatures between 40F (4C), about the same as a refrigerator, or 150F (65C), making it difficult to eradicate.
Dr Shumaker said the contaminated meats can then spread the bacteria to other surfaces, leading to an outbreak.
Deli counters must be consistently and comprehensively cleaned and sanitized to destroy all bacteria.
Brian Ronholm, the director of food policy for Consumer Reports, which tracks recalls, said deli meats come up often as being a food recalled due to contamination.
He told this website: 'Deli meats can be such a high-risk product because listeria has such a high prevalence in deli meat settings. That's why there's always an advisory for pregnant women not to eat them.
'Part of the problem is that listeria spreads so easily both at a production facility and also at a deli counter at a store. Once it makes its way into that setting, it is much more difficult to sanitize once it is present than beforehand.'
Estimates suggest listeria infects about 1,250 people in the US every year, but infections are often serious, with 1,000 of these individuals being hospitalized and 172 dying from their infections.
Romaine lettuce, onions and leafy greens
Romaine lettuce are pictured above, which have often been linked to bacterial contamination
Experts also told Daily Mail that leafy greens tend to pose a higher risk to shoppers because they could be contaminated with any number of bacteria, including listeria, salmonella or E.coli.
Consumer Reports says online: 'Many of the leafy greens in the US are grown on farms that are located close to cattle feed lots.
'Irrigation water contaminated by runoff from those lots has been the source of several outbreaks.'
Experts say that the water may be contaminated with animal feces that carry pathogens.
If plants are irrigated with this water, the bacteria can get onto their leaves, and then be spread in factories, eventually infecting customers.
Dr Shumaker said: 'Romaine lettuce has had a lot of attention over the past years, it is the one that is most often associated with contaminated irrigation waters.'
McDonald's suffered a major blow last year after one person died and 104 people were sickened after eating its Quarter Pounder burgers.
The patients were diagnosed with E.coli that was eventually linked to the chopped onions used in the burger that had been contaminated with the bacteria.
E.coli is estimated to cause about 357,000 illnesses in the US every year, 3,100 hospitalizations and 66 deaths. Leafy greens are also estimated to be behind 85 percent of food-linked E.coli infections.
Warning signs of an infection include diarrhea, abdominal pain and cramps, nausea, and fever. In serious cases, the infection can cause severe cramps, bloody diarrhea and dehydration, which can lead to kidney failure.
The above shows ground beef, which experts say poses a higher risk of being contaminated
Ground beef and poultry
Dr Shumaker also warned that ground beef and poultry meats were among foods most likely to make someone sick.
She told this website: 'Raw poultry has a high risk of contamination with salmonella or campylobacter.'
Campylobacter is a bacteria, sometimes found in undercooked poultry, that can contaminate food, and causes patients to suffer from diarrhea for several days.
It is the second most common foodborne illness, according to the CDC, causing 1.8 million infections a year, as well as 13,000 hospitalizations and 197 deaths.
She added: 'Ground beef, on the other hand, those are the ones I would worry about consuming [out of meat products], as it is more associated with salmonella or E.coli.'
Cooking meats to 165F (73C) or higher instantly kills any bacteria lurking on them.
But Dr Shumaker said that the foods must be cooked thoroughly and warned that bacteria from them could still contaminate work surfaces.
The foods can be contaminated during animal processing, which can lead to bacteria being spread onto cuts of meat, particularly in the case of ground meats, which are formed from many meat cuts mixed together.
In July, more than 367,000 pounds of fully cooked turkey bacon was recalled over fears it could be contaminated with listeria.
How do I avoid infection?
Experts have said washing hands before handling food and keeping surfaces clean can slash the risk of infection.
But Sandra Eskin, chief executive officer at pressure group Stop Foodborne Illness, said it was primarily the responsibility of food companies to ensure their products were free from contamination.
She said people could follow four basic steps to ensure food was safe to eat: Clean, Separate, Cook and Chill.
Clean involves sanitizing the hands, surface and tools the food is going to be prepared on.
Separate dictates preparing meat and vegetables using a separate chopping board and knife to avoid cross contamination.
Cooking above a temperature of 165F (65C) will kill bacteria and keeping the foods properly cooled before and after cooking will prevent the growth of bacteria.
Eskin said: 'The reality is, it is the responsibility of food companies to produce safe food. But we have identified basic things people should follow when preparing food to reduce the risk of any contamination.'
