Foods that kill

Posted on Aug 20th 2007 8:01PM by Rigel Celeste

We're not talking about fatty foods that clog arteries, or salty foods that raise blood pressure, or anything that causes severe allergic reactions -- we're talking about food-borne illnesses and the foods that carry them. We've had beef scares, spinach scares, peanut butter scares, and there are more to come you can be sure. As long as there are bacteria on this planet there will be the risk of it getting into our food.

eDiets has compiled this list of 13 foods that are commonly or most at risk for causing illness. Some are not surprising, like rare hamburger or raw wild mushrooms, but what about Caesar salad dressing, veggie sprouts, and even water?

So what isn't risky these days?

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23 Comment

Tags: bacteria, beef, caesar, e coli, E.coli, EColi, eggs, food borne illness, food poisoning, FoodBorneIllness, FoodPoisoning, germ, germs, meat, peanuts, salmonella, spinach, sprouts

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

silver_strands87 8-24-2007 @ 3:18PM

Well, when it comes to things like this, dangerous food, etc. I always follow Nietzsche's one point-taken law. "What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger". Our bodies have enough power to eliminate most of the dangerous microbes in food. I do have to say that eliminating these microbes from the body once manifested may not be pleasant, but...I just think it's unnecessary to worry about what we consume. If properly cooked, everything should be alright. If not, well, that's a risk we all have to take at least once in our lives. All I can say about this article is, be smart about what you eat. If it looks, tastes, or smells like it shouldn't, throw it away.

John B 8-24-2007 @ 3:36PM

Ok, I am a Servsafe instructor in a technical high school. That said, alot of these bactera and toxins cannot be killed by cooking or freezing. It may destroy the disease causing bacteria but may not kill the toxic poisons that they leave behind. Rule of thumb(general) when in doubt throw it out.

Tommy 8-24-2007 @ 6:46PM

Not eating will kill you also... Now what do we do?

jimgirten 8-24-2007 @ 6:59PM

you know for thirty years milk was the best thing on earth---and so with everything . also with medicines , lord the way they advertise you can't live without their product so ive come to the decision i'll eat what i want. i rarely eat a burger rare but they are making death look better to me all the time!!

George 8-24-2007 @ 9:27PM

lets go to bed said sleepy head, wait awhile said slow, put on the pot said greedy gut, lets eat before we go.

judecase 8-26-2007 @ 7:52AM

I just read the 13 unsafe foods! They don't think water is safe...lettuce,sprouts,hamburger,stuffed turkey,cookie dough...keep you kitchen clean and enjoy what you eat...reading this we should all be sick or dead. With the obesity levels in this country we should worry more about how much we eat then if it is safe.

Amber 8-26-2007 @ 8:15AM

No offense judecase but seroiusly???? Your more worried about people stuffing thier faces than what may be poisonous.
You are off your rocker!
For the rest, just remember the basic rules. Never eat raw meat or eggs. Wash your lettuce, salad, ect. before you eat, make sure your meat and poultry are well cooked (or well done). Do not be too concerned about stuffing your turkey for Thanksgiving, it's always great to have a meat thermometer or two around, you should always check the temp of your meat before removing it from the oven, broiler or fire (or whatever your cooking it with) and you will do just fine.

Martin 8-26-2007 @ 8:47AM

Looks like eggs are the main culprit... AND fish is before meat and then only raw meat

Richard 8-26-2007 @ 9:22AM

Use common sense, if you don't have any stay out of the kitchen.
I believe worrying will kill you faster than anything else.

Janis 8-26-2007 @ 9:24AM

I agree with judecase. Obesity caused from over eating should be mentioned here too. Obesity is associated with about 112,000 excess deaths per year in the U.S. population relative to healthy weight individuals.

dave 8-26-2007 @ 9:48AM

I just cannot stand to read these rediculous articles about foods that kill you. They anger me.

Dunc 8-26-2007 @ 11:14AM

eat hearty....die happy

becky 8-27-2007 @ 1:23AM

george carlin said it best...he said they just found out that saliva causes cancer, but it is only dangerous when swallowed in small amounts over long periods of time!

Alan Hills 8-26-2007 @ 11:32AM

As a one time chef, we always subscribed to the motto: "When in doubt, throw it out."

Rachel Best 8-26-2007 @ 11:36AM

You know anymore I don't care....because one day you hear something is bad for you, then give it time and that same thing that they said could hurt you all of a sudden turn out to be good for you...Stop scaring people with these stupid claims of foods that kill...My advice to people...Eat what you want and if it doesn't feel good, then don't eat it...all in all most people know what they can or cannot eat and most people don't need articles like this one telling us that were gonna die for eating things like lettuce....unbelievable...I'm 44yrs old and pretty much have eaten what I've wanted all my life...I have great health and a slender build....I'm starting to cut back somewhat on fats to keep trim but as far as this article goes...Your not scaring me into not eating foods that I've eaten all my life....find something better to do with your time....like maybe getting a
J-O-B

Thomas Green 8-26-2007 @ 12:05PM

It is not the food that is dangerous; it is the mis-
handling and preparation that kills. Some individuals do have terrific alergic reactions to a particular food but there is no mass killing problems with eating peanuts, etc.

josh 8-26-2007 @ 11:56AM

You can die crossing the street, or standing in the park.. so whats the news here? Food can kill.. ooh geez.. so can asprin...

milton 8-26-2007 @ 12:19PM

Does the type of chemicals used to force things to
grow faster have anything to do with the size and
weight problem.

FSW 8-26-2007 @ 1:34PM

Falsely titled -
or at least it is sloppy use of language.

It isn't the foods that kill: it's the food-borne illnesses.

Funny thing how title is "13 FOODS That Can Kill"
And then this is said:
"The recent spinach scare, which sickened more than 170 people and killed at least one, has opened our eyes to the dangers of food-borne pathogens."

"Foods", and "food-borne illness", are not the same thing.

The mushrooms, however, do qualify as a food that can kill in and of itself.