Leafy green vegetables are good for you, as long as they’re not tainted with pathogens.

A new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found leafy greens, such as lettuce and spinach, are the leading source of food poisoning in the United States.

About 48 million Americans become sick from food poisoning each year, sending 128,000 to the hospital and causing about 3,000 deaths. Of the 48 million cases, about 20% were linked to leafy greens.

But the biggest killer among food-poisoning incidents was poultry. Between 1998 and 2008, 277 people died from eating tainted poultry, compared to 236 vegetable-related deaths. Most of the poultry deaths were attributed to Listeria monocytogenes or Salmonella, with the numbers increased by outbreaks related to turkey deli meats.

-Noel Brinkerhoff

To Learn More:

Study Says Leafy Greens Top Food Poisoning Source (by Mike Stobbe, Associated Press)

Attribution of Foodborne Illnesses, Hospitalizations, and Deaths to Food Commodities by using Outbreak Data, United States, 1998–2008 (by John A. Painter, Robert M. Hoekstra, Tracy Ayers, Robert V. Tauxe, Christopher R. Braden, Frederick J. Angulo, and Patricia M. Griffin, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

FDA Finally Proposes Overhaul of Food Safety for Produce, Dairy, Seafood and Drinking Water (by Noel Brinkerhoff and David Wallechinsky, AllGov)

Food Safety Inspectors Object to Allowing Poultry Companies to do Their Own Inspections (by David Wallechinsky and Noel Brinkerhoff, AllGov)

10 FDA-Regulated Foods Most Likely to Cause Illness (by Noel Brinkerhoff, AllGov)