The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that major foodborne pathogens cause 9 million illnesses each year. The number of foodborne illnesses motivated the FDA to create the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), which Congress passed.
The Federal Government drafted the FSMA in response to the continuing occurrence of foodborne illnesses caused by these pathogens. To illustrate the scope of the problem, the table below ranks the risks and costs of the 14 leading foodborne pathogens.