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As the 4th of July approaches, cases of foodborne illnesses are surging in the summer season.
- Incidents of food poisoning surge over the summer months because bacteria multiply faster when it’s warm
- Americans spend $400 million on beef alone for July 4th barbeques
- USDA research shows that 1 out of every 4 hamburgers turns brown before it has reached a safe internal temperature!
- New FDA research done in collaboration with USDA shows that only 23% of Americans who own a food thermometer actually use it when grilling hamburgers
- 48 million Americans (at least 1 in 6) will get sick from foodborne illness this year, resulting in roughly 128,000 hospitalizations and 3,000 deaths
How can families avoid these serious public health threats during the July 4th holiday and summer months when they are at most risk? Just listen to the Founding Fathers. Learn more at foodsafety.gov
For more tips, go to FoodSafety.gov and check out our ‘Ask Karen’ app, available in English (m.AskKaren.gov) and Spanish (m.PregunteleaKaren.gov), to get access to more than 1,300 answers to food safety questions.
“Ask Karen” and the Spanish-language “Pregúntele a Karen” will be answering food safety questions from the Twitter handles @USDAFoodSafety and @USDAFoodSafe_es on June 28 at 1 p.m. ET. Please join our chat if you have questions in advance of your Fourth of July party.
Disclosure: I received this information to share with readers. No compensation has been received to produce this post.
