Children and Foodborne Illness

Note: Please see our Young Children and Foodborne Illness fact sheet for more recent data and information on this topic.

Children are disproportionately affected by foodborne illness, a serious public health problem. Approximately half of the reported foodborne illnesses occur in children, with the majority of these cases occurring in children under 15 years of age. These diseases can lead to shortand long-term health consequences and, sometimes, can result in death. Every year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that tens of millions of Americans fall ill, hundreds of thousands are hospitalized, and thousands die from foodborne illnesses.