This is a list of foodborne illness outbreaks by death toll, caused by infectious disease, heavy metals, chemical contamination, or from natural toxins, such as those found in poisonous mushrooms. Before modern microbiology, foodborne illness was not understood, and, from the mid 1800s to early-mid 1900s, was perceived as ptomaine poisoning, caused by a fundamental flaw in understanding how it worked. While the medical establishment ditched ptomaine theory by the 1930s, it remained in the public consciousness until the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Outside of botulism (which has been well known since the early 1900s and killed often at the time), many other foodborne illnesses such as salmonellosis were not monitored closely or kept careful track of until at least the late 1970s, with overall monitoring only fully taking off after the 1992–1993 Jack in the Box E. coli outbreak.
A widespread listeriosis outbreak from contaminated deli meats from Enterprise Foods, a subsidiary of Tiger Brands. It is the world's worst listeriosis outbreak.
Believed to have been caused by supplementing cattle feed with meat and bone meal. Resulted in the slaughter of over four million cattle, and a 10 year ban on exports of British beef.
At the time the world's deadliest outbreak of E. coli poisoning. Butchers John M. Barr & Son provided cooked meat products to several events including a birthday party and a pensioners' luncheon club. The source of the contamination was traced to a boiler used for cooking joints and stew, and a vacuum packing machine used for cooked and raw meats.[11] Deadliest outbreak of the 0157 strain.[12]
Listeria contamination in various nut milk products led to at least 20 cases of listeriosis, including 3 deaths in Ontario between August 2023 and July 2024.
Six guests and two staff members at the Loch Maree Hotel in Scotland were fatally poisoned by sandwiches made with duck paste contaminated with botulinum toxin. This was the first incident in the UK in which botulism was conclusively identified as the cause and remains the only large incident of microbial food contamination in the UK with 100% reported fatalities.
A poorly maintained nacho cheese machine lead to the contamination of the cheese and the sicking of 10 people with botulism, one of whom later died.[31]
An estimated 224,000 people across the United States suffered from gastroenteritis caused by Salmonella serovar Enteritidis after eating Schwan's ice cream when raw, unpasteurized eggs were hauled in a tanker truck that later carried pasteurized ice cream to the Schwan's plant, and the ice cream premix was not pasteurized after delivery to the plant.[32]
By mistake, an industrial grade Monosodium phosphate was added to milk produced by Morinaga Milk Industry, which contained an impurity of 5–8% arsenic. The milk powder was used for feeding infants, and many babies were poisoned. By 1981, there were still >6,000 people affected as adults with severe intellectual disabilities and other health effects; and by 2006, >600 adults remained affected.
Tricresyl phosphate, at the time thought to be non-toxic, was used to adulterate ginger extract made by Hub Product Corp., sold as a patent medicine and drunk for its high alcohol content. Thousands of people suffered permanent peripheral nerve damage, causing a loss of manual dexterity and a peculiar gait known as "Jake leg"
12"Situation Report"(PDF). Department of Health, Republic of South Africa. 26 July 2018. Archived(PDF) from the original on 2 May 2019. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
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