“Chipotle, E. Coli, and More: The Surprising Truths about Food-Borne Illnesses”, 2016-01-15 (; backlinks):
The outbreak garnered substantial attention, in part because of the popularity of Chipotle, which has more than 1,500 locations worldwide. But the cases represent a drop in the bucket in the number of annual food-borne illnesses…The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which tracks both outbreaks like those at Chipotle and isolated occurrences, estimates that 48 million people contract food-borne diseases each year. Only a small number of those cases are considered actual outbreaks—defined as two or more people getting sick from the same source…only 40% of such cases are ever solved.
You are safer in a fast-food restaurant than at a swanky restaurant: CDC statistics show that 1998–162014, there were 1,969 outbreaks in “sit-down” restaurants, causing 26,350 illnesses, 1,206 hospitalizations, and eight deaths. By comparison, fast-food restaurants were the source of only 365 outbreaks, 5,624 illnesses, 533 hospitalizations, and three deaths.
David Plunkett, a senior food safety attorney with CSPI and co-author of the report released last week, said standardization at fast-food restaurants helps make them safer. “You can’t walk into a McDonald’s and say, ‘I’d like my hamburger rare’”, Plunkett explained. “’You should be less suspicious of the meat and more suspicious of the things that are going to be on the food raw, such as lettuce or a salad-type option.”