About 76 million people in the U.S. suffer foodborne illnesses each year, 300,000 are hospitalized and 5,000 die, according to a recent report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Although there have been significant declines in the incidence of some foodborne infections since surveillance began in 1996, these declines all occurred before 2004, the report said, and the incidence of the most common foodborne illnesses has changed very little over the past three years.

The findings come as two separate recalls are underway for products containing peanuts and pistachios that were processed at plants where salmonella has been found. The incidence of salmonella infections has remained between 14 and 16 cases per 100,000 persons since the first years of surveillance.

Read more on the report on our Safety blog, and read more on Consumers Union's efforts to clean up food safety at NotInMyFood.org.

Image: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention