This category of patient includes infants less than 6 months old, the elderly, those undergoing cancer treatments and persons with HIV infections. Healthy persons are not at risk for serious illness, but other segments of the population risk hospitalization if infected by contaminated food.

Food recalls by the Food and Drug Administration are at their highest levels since 1986, the Times reports. One of the problems with the recall system, according to the Times is that there are too few inspectors so that foods can only be recalled after illnesses are reported by consumers.

Last year 315 food products were recalled by the FDA. The CDC reports that 5,000 deaths, 325,000 hospitalizations and 76 million illnesses are caused by food poisoning every year, according to The New York Times.

Although the article by Greg Winter acknowledges that “Not all scientists agree with” the conclusions of the CDC, no specific sources or reasons for disagreement are cited.

One factor not discussed in the Times article that may argue against its focus includes increases in the number of immunocompromised persons in the United States population, such as the growing number of senior citizens. Modern access to cancer therapies which suppress functioning of the immune system was not available in 1968, nor were there any reported cases of HIV at that time.

A plausible alternative hypothesis might be that the incidence of food contamination has not risen. Rather, an increased susceptibility to serious illness in the population may be the significant variable worth addressing. The Times article does state that food industry representatives assert “the nation’s food supply…(is)…already the safest in the world…”

New safeguards, whether personal, medical, pharmaceutical or societal may reduce the incidence of disease for the expected increase in people whose immune systems are not functioning well.