Foodborne pathogens cause 76 million illnesses, 325,000 hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths annually, and may contribute to long-term disease in more than 1 million Americans, according to estimates by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Furthermore, the total economic impact of foodborne illness across the nation is estimated to be $152 billion annually.

Today, more than 23 million children and adolescents in the United States — nearly one in three young people — are either obese or overweight. This increasing public health risk is caused, in part, by the poor nutritional quality of food served in schools across the nation.

The Pew Health Group addresses a variety of threats to the nation’s food supply and to the healthfulness of what kids are eating at school. Our experts advocate for policies that will prevent contamination of domestically produced and imported food, improve surveillance systems that alert consumers to outbreaks of foodborne illness and improve the quality and safety of food sold and served in U.S. schools.