The researchers determined the riskiest foods based on a combination of three metrics: the number of recalls and/or outbreaks, the number of illnesses and deaths, and the amount of food recalled. “After all, these foods are all usually safe, and many of them are in fact parts of a healthy diet,” Brian Ronholm, Consumer Reports’ director of food policy and the study’s lead analyst, said in a statement. He and his fellow researchers just want to highlight “the importance of following best food safety practices with all of your foods, including knowing how to track, and respond, to food recalls when they happen.”