ANCHOR INTRO:
SOURCE: According to the Produce Marketing Association, consumption of fresh produce rose from 287 pounds per capita in 1990 to 332 pounds in 2004.
SEEMS LIKE WE'RE FINALLY GETTING THE MESSAGE DRILLED INTO OUR HEADS SINCE WE WERE KIDS-EAT YOUR FRUITS AND VEGETABLES. AMERICANS ARE EATING MORE POUNDS OF PRODUCE THAN EVER. BUT, WHILE THE FRESH FOODS ARE UNDOUBTEDLY A CRITICAL PART OF A BALANCED DIET.... HEALTH OFFICIALS WARN...THEY MAY ALSO BE RISKY!!! HERE'S ___________ WITH AN IMPORTANT HEADS UP! ON HOW YOU CAN STAY HEALTHY WHILE EATING HEALTHY.

TRACK ONE Length: 04
MIKE STEIN RECENTLY ATE SOME FOOD THAT LEFT MORE THAN A BAD TASTE IN HIS MOUTH.

SOT
KEY @: 06 Mike Stein, Got food-borne illness
"We got home and I started feeling queasy."

TRACK TWO Length: 08
NOTE TO CLIENTS: For details on Mr. Stein's story, please see source material below.
HE GOT VIOLENTLY ILL AND FIGURED IT WAS FROM THE FOOD. SO, HE CALLED THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT AND WAS SURPRISED BY WHAT THEY SAID WAS TO BLAME FOR HIS BAD REACTION.

SOT
Length: 04(Mike Stein, Got food-borne illness)
"They suspected that it was some kind of contamination on the vegetables."

TRACK THREE Length: 02
EVEN MORE SURPRISING-...

SOT
KEY @: 23 Mike Stein, Got food-borne illness
"They indicated that this is not an unusual situation."

TRACK FOUR Length: 11
IN FACT, ACCORDING TO THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION, CONTAMINATED FRUITS AND VEGETABLES NOW CAUSE MORE FOOD-BORNE ILLNESS THAN EVEN MEAT, POULTRY OR EGGS. AND THE PROBLEM IS GROWING.

SOT
KEY @: 43 Patricia Griffin, MD, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
"When we look at all of our outbreaks, about 13 % of those people got ill from eating a fresh fruit or vegetable -one that was consumed raw-- and that's double what we saw 10, 15 years ago."

TRACK FIVE Length: 06
SOURCE: CDC; Also UC Davis Marketing Economist Dr Roberta Cook says sales of fresh cut produce reached $12.5 billion in 2004, almost four times the amount sold in 1994.
THE CDC'S DOCTOR PATRICIA GRIFFIN SAYS ONE REASON IS THE INCREASED POPULARITY OF PRE-CUT PRODUCE.

SOT
KEY @: 1:01 Patricia Griffin, MD, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
"Once a fruit or vegetable has been cut, it can be a better medium for growth of bacteria."

TRACK SIX Length: 07
ALSO... VEGGIES NOW COME FROM MORE PLACES, INCLUDING OVERSEAS...AND THE OVERALL PROCESS IS TOUGH TO TRACK.

SOT
KEY @: 1:14 Patricia Griffin, MD, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
"For example, lettuce is harvested. It will get washed, but maybe it will be in wash water that's contaminated."

TRACK SEVEN Length: 06
THE BIGGEST CULPRITS, ACCORDING TO THE GOVERNMENT: LETTUCE, MELONS, SPROUTS, TOMATOES AND GREEN ONIONS.

SOT
KEY @: 1:27 Patricia Griffin, MD, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
"Another big problem has been un-pasteurized juice."

TRACK EIGHT Length: 08
FRUITS AND VEGETABLS ARE A CRITICAL PART OF A BALANCED DIET, SO NO ONE IS SUGGESTING YOU AVOID THEM. BUT THE CDC DOES HAVE SOME RECOMMENDATIONS:

SOT
Length: 07(Patricia Griffin, MD, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
"Wash your fresh fruits and vegetables before you eat them; peel your fruits and cut out any parts that are bad."

TRACK NINE Length: 08
REFIGERATION AFTER PEELING AND CUTTING IS KEY. AND AS YOUR MOTHER ALWAYS SAID, WASH YOUR HANDS BEFORE YOU EAT, TOO. I'M ___________ REPORTING.

ANCHOR TAG
THE CDC SAYS IT'S TOUGH TO KNOW JUST HOW BIG THE PROBLEM IS BECAUSE MOST PEOPLE DON'T THINK TO REPORT THEIR ILLNESSES. THEY URGE YOU TO CONTACT YOUR HEALTH DEPARTMENT IF YOU THINK YOU'VE EATEN CONTAMINATED FOOD. THAT WILL HELP OFFICIALS TRACE BAD FOOD SOURCES AND PROTECT OTHERS FROM BECOMING ILL.

SOURCE LIST

Patricia Griffin, MD
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Atlanta, GA
PAO: Jennifer Marfoni, 404-639-1690

BACKGROUND ON TRACK TWO
Mike Stein ate at an Atlanta restaurant in September, 2005. He and his wife had salad and an entree. He says they were ill within an hour. They notified the health department, thinking it was food poisoning from the scallops they ate. He says the local health department told them that, based on their quick reaction, it was much more likely they were sick from contamination of the lettuce.