Historically, the greatest concern for food safety in disasters has been the contamination of meat and milk following nuclear fallout. Today we recognize other more likely risks.

An example of a large-scale intoxication occurred in 1973, when polybrominated biphenyl hydrocarbon (PBB), a fire retardant, was inadvertently mixed into commercial livestock rations instead of magnesium oxide. Approximately 30,000 cattle, 6,000 pigs, 1,500 sheep, and 1.5 million chickens died or had to be humanely killed. Also, large amounts of food and feed were destroyed. A year later, more than 95 percent of the milk samples taken from breast-feeding mothers had traces of PBB in them.

Examples of contamination of meat and milk are reported regularly as products contaminated with bacteria, such as E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella spp., listeriosis are recalled.