The 10 Riskiest Foods to Eat, According to Food Safety Data

These ten foods are the most frequently recalled or prone to disease outbreaks.

It feels like (nearly) every week, there are new recalls issued or disease outbreaks reported in the world of food, and it can get overwhelming quickly. As a food editor, but more so as a consumer, I'm always looking for ways to increase my knowledge of food safety and avoid risk where I can. That's why I was so intrigued when I saw a recent article from Consumer Reports about the riskiest foods to eat based on past recall and outbreak data.

The article looks at the foods most frequently linked to serious recalls and disease outbreaks in the last five years to determine their relative risk. Of the top ten riskiest foods, some (like bagged salad) may not surprise you, but I'd wager you won't see them all coming. Read on for the full countdown of risky foods, plus the diseases they are linked to and why.

10: Flour

Starting off with a very topical one, considering there is currently an ongoing Center for Disease Control (CDC) investigation into a salmonella outbreak in flour. Flour is most frequently contaminated with E. coli and salmonella, transmitted via animal waste in the fields where wheat is grown. Milling the wheat into flour doesn't kill those disease pathogens either—only cooking above 145-165 degrees F does.

In addition to the ongoing outbreak investigation, there were two other serious flour recalls in the last 5 years; one in 2019 and one in 2021.

The good news is that these pathogens are easy to avoid in flour. The bad news is you're going to have to stop eating that raw cookie dough or batter. Tempting as is may be, dessert batters and doughs are almost always behind flour recalls and related outbreaks (including the current one). Just do yourself a favor and stick to this safe-to-eat Edible Cookie Dough.

9, 8, & 7: Papayas, Peaches, and Melons

Many kinds of fruit are prone to salmonella contamination via the dust and soil they grow in. However, Consumer Reports found that precut cantaloupe, honeydew, watermelon, whole cantaloupes, papayas, and peaches were most commonly associated with salmonella-related recalls.

The reasoning? They are the fruits most commonly sold pre-cut in stores. “When you cut into produce, you increase the risk of transferring bacteria that may be on its surface into its flesh,” said James E. Rogers, the director of food safety research and testing at CR. “In commercial facilities, with fruits and vegetables processed in one place, it can create opportunities for cross contamination.”

Since fruit is most commonly consumed raw, the risk of exposure to bacteria is high. Rogers and Consumer Reports recommend avoiding precut fruit when you can, as well as avoiding bruised or damaged fruit. Washing fruit can remove some surface dirt but won't kill bacteria, so your best bet is to stay informed on active outbreaks in the news.

6 & 5: Chicken and Turkey

Ground poultry is most commonly associated with salmonella, but all forms of raw chicken and turkey also frequently contain salmonella. That's because poultry producers can legally sell their product even if they know it may contain salmonella. Yes, that's really true.

The USDA allows salmonella in up to 10% of whole chickens it tests at a processing plant, and up to 15% of chicken parts and 25% of ground chicken tested. A test done by Consumer Reports last year found salmonella in nearly one third of 75 ground chicken samples it tested.

So, now that we know ground poultry poses a large risk of exposure to salmonella, what can you do to avoid sickness? Chicken should always be cooked to at least 165 degrees F, and handled and stored with care according to the latest food safety standards. And sorry mom, but you should never rinse chicken in your sink before cooking—it will only spread bacteria, and do more harm than good.

4: Onions

How did the humble onion end up on this risky foods list? Two very large recalls in 2020 and 2021 linked onions to salmonella, and resulted in more than 2,100 sick people and left over 400 more hospitalized. These outbreaks were determined to be most likely from contaminated irrigation water, according to the FDA.

Since onions are often cooked, they tend to be lower risk than other produce. You can further lower that risk by avoiding bruised onions, since bacteria is more likely to enter damaged food. Store onions properly and only wash them just before use; the moisture can make them rot faster.

3: Ground Beef

Beef, but specifically ground beef, is most frequently linked to salmonella, as well as deadly strains of E. coli. Particular strains of E. Coli, especially the Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (or STEC) are so dangerous that the USDA requires manufacturers to recall meat that could be contaminated, even if no illnesses have been clearly linked to it.

And the prevalence of these bacteria is astounding. In fact, just last year, 28,000 pounds of ground beef were recalled after Consumer Reports found E. coli in sample testing. And salmonella is even more widespread; of the 643 illnesses linked to ground beef in CR’s analysis, 416 were attributed to this bacteria.

Ground meats are more likely to be exposed to bacteria because the meat can come from various animals. Additionally, surface bacteria on whole cuts of beef is more likely to be killed during the cooking process.

To stay safe, properly store ground beef and cook it thoroughly. Cook ground beef and pork to 160 degrees F and whole cuts to 145 degrees F to kill bacteria. Consumer Reports recommends investing in a good meat thermometer to ensure the correct temperatures when cooking.

2: Cheeses & Deli Meats

Listeria is the name of the game when it comes to various soft cheeses and deli meats. Sausage, salami, ham, lunch meats, and sliced deli cheeses are all prone to listeria contamination, as are soft cheeses like Brie and queso fresco. Listeria thrives in the cold temperatures of deli storage cases and storage refrigerators, then easily spreads via deli slicers and machinery, as well as to hands when meats and cheeses are handled improperly.

Listeria is a particularly aggressive food-borne pathogen, with 90% percent of infections resulting in hospitalization. It's especially dangerous for those with compromised immune systems and pregnant people.

Just to hammer home the risk, it's important to understand that these outbreaks are very frequent. In just 5 years, deli meat and cheese-related listeria outbreaks were behind 122 recalls, the most of any food on this list.

So apologies to your charcuterie board, but the food safety experts at Consumer Reports recommend avoiding cold cuts and sliced cheeses altogether, or at the very least purchasing the prepackaged varieties. High-risk individuals should really avoid them entirely, and steer clear of raw milk cheeses made like Brie, Gorgonzola, and Camembert.

1: Leafy Greens

The number one offender on the list of riskiest foods was leafy greens, with romaine and bagged salad mixes being the most frequently recalled varieties. Outbreaks traced to leafy greens were responsible for the most deaths and the second largest number of recalls in Consumer Reports' findings.

Leafy greens are most commonly exposed to E. coli and listeria through irrigation of contaminated water. Additionally, greens are processed in a relatively small number of facilities, meaning that bacteria can spread quickly to millions of cases of greens and heads of lettuce quickly, escalating outbreaks.

As mentioned, Listeria is particularly aggressive and hard to kill in damp, cold temperatures, so it can thrive in packing facilities and easily spread on processing machinery. And finally—sealing the deal of leafy greens' riskiness—they're typically eaten raw.

So what can you do? Buy whole leaf lettuce over bagged or boxed and opt for greenhouse-grown or hydroponically-grown greens. Locally grown lettuce that avoids these processing facilities can also be a better option. Also, remove the outer leaves on lettuce, which is often where bacteria lives. And, if you're in a particularly high-risk population, you may want to opt for cooked greens over raw to further minimize risk.

This list is enough to send you into a spiral (and fridge clean out), but don't panic. There are many actionable items you can do to reduce your risk, and Consumer Reports is quick to clarify that this list isn't intended to keep you from consuming these foods at all.

“We aren’t saying people need to avoid these foods entirely,” said Brian Ronholm, director of food policy at CR. “After all, these foods are all usually safe, and many of them are in fact important parts of a healthy diet.”

Rather, consumers should stay on top of food recalls and outbreaks in the news, follow the guidance of the CDC for the best food safety practices, and promptly respond to food recalls when they happen.