Putting Scientific Data in Context

In March, news media in Washington, D.C., picked up on recent government statistics showing that Salmonella contamination in poultry has been steadily increasing during the past five years. While these figures did not mirror the number of reported instances of human illness from Salmonella contamination—a figure that has actually fallen slightly over much of the same period—the tone of the coverage could be interpreted as making that connection.

Comments by IFT member Mark Kantor, University of …