In its latest press release The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) announces breathlessly that “Fish & Shellfish Top CSPI Outbreak List.” But it’s the words inside the 23 page report that expose that pronouncement as yet another seafood scare story that doesn’t hold up when challenged.

Does seafood really top CSPI’s list of foods associated with outbreaks-you bet it does. But what does that mean? Well, for starters an outbreak is defined as an occurrence where 2 or more people were sickened from a single cause. CSPI reports that over the last 16 yearsthere were just over 1,100 outbreaks associated with seafood involving more than 11,000 illnesses. Let’s compare: when it comes to produce CSPI reports there were only over 700 outbreaks… but along with those 700 produce related outbreaks there were 35,000 cases of illness.

Playing fast and loose with definitions might lead the casual reader to think people are getting sick left and right from seafood when CSPI’s own numbers show far more people were sicken from produce (35,060), poultry (18,906), and beef (14,191.)

But it doesn’t stop there.

By CSPI’s own admission the number of outbreaks in its food borne illness database is based on only 27-44% of the total reported food borne illness outbreaks tallied by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). If the CDC doesn’t know the “food vehicle” CSPI didn’t include it in its database. Which is all fine and good… except for the fact that when it comes to seafood the vast majority of illnesses associated with outbreaks come from things like scombotoxin and ciguatoxin, which are most often found in seafood. So if there were an outbreak associated with seafood it’s likely to be in that database but with as much as 73% of the data from other outbreaks missing seafood is grossly over represented.

Here’s a little more perspective for you. Keep in mind these CSPI numbers encompass 16 years (1990-2006). Let’s just take the last year for which CDC data is available. In 2006 there were a total of 1,247 outbreaks accross the board. Of those seafood was confirmed as source in 65. CSPI’s scare story isn’t as scary when you’ve got the facts in front of you.

Seafood leads the list in CSPI’s Outbreak Alert 2008. And interestingly enough CSPI leads the list of my Irresponsible Reporting Alert 2008.