Are you the average adult American? If so, then you definitely consume 70 pounds of beef, 60 pounds of pork, and 550 pounds of dairy (love that soft serve ice cream). Americans feel safe eating simply because know the foods they eat have already been monitored from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) along with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

But, how safe is our food industry, really? Do the USDA and FDA really monitor our food for quality and safety? Is there everything to fear?

When I was contracted to publish an article about foodborne illnesses (illnesses that can directly from eating), I discovered that illness directly related to food also come in all sizes and shapes. In 2005, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated there are other than 200 foodborne illnesses, from allergies to “stomach flu” to vomiting; the CDC have identified 30 pathogens related to these foodborne illnesses, classified as bacteria, virus, chemical, parasitic, prions, antibiotic residues, genetic modifications, or unknown. In fact, the CDC estimated the typical adult American consumes 10 pounds of additives on a yearly basis, pathogens included!

And any kind of these pathogens might lead to or result in illness, disability or death.

Caroline Smith DeWaal, director of food safety on the Center for Science inside Public Interest stated “Consumers play a lottery each day they eat.” But it isn’t only E. coli and Salmonella that can cause illnesses that occur. Sure, they increase the risk for classical signs and symptoms of stomach and digestive distress, but how about those illnesses that occur in the future from eating meals? What about antibiotic resistance or allergies? These too are now considered foodborne illnesses.

The CDC stated that foodborne illnesses cause 9,000 American deaths annually, 81 million are sickened, and 325,000 require hospitalization. The long-term link between some food-borne contaminants are still being studied through the CDC; these effects are cancer, paralysis, and disability.

As many illnesses are getting considered “food-borne” since they began with food, this information looks in the “traditional” foodborne illnesses (i.e. parasites, bacteria, viruses), genetically modified foods, hormones and irradiation. Each must be examined for the impact on health, because the building blocks to health start out with what we set up our mouths.