According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 2011 Estimates of Foodborne Illness in the U.S., the top five pathogens that contribute to domestically acquired foodborne illness are Norovirus, Salmonella (nontyphoidal), Clostridium perfringens, Campylobacter spp. and Staphylococcus aureus. Exposure to these pathogens can be the result of food that was contaminated during the processing, packaging or transporting of food products.
In 2010, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reported the recall of more than 500 million shell eggs due to a multistate outbreak of Salmonella Enteritidis, in which over 1,000 people were sick. In September 2011, there was a multistate outbreak of foodborne illness due to Salmonella contamination of ground turkey. This outbreak resulted in the recall of 36 million pounds of turkey, according to the CDC.