Salmonella
If there's one panic that reoccurs like clockwork, it's salmonella in the food supply. Picking any one outbreak almost seems unfair — just this year companies pulled tainted peanut butter from store shelves due to salmonella fears. But it might be tough to outdo the 2008 outbreak in terms of sheer ridiculousness.
After more than a thousand were sickened by one of the worst outbreaks of salmonella in the U.S. in years, authorities pulled several varieties of tomatoes from the food supply. Electing to be overcautious, some restaurants pulled tomatoes off the menu entirely. Across the land, salad bars and Taco Bells were bleak, lycopene-free wastelands. And it very likely was all for naught. In the end, authorities said the outbreak could just as well have come from jalapeno peppers or cilantro — they weren't really sure. It was little solace to tomato producers who lost substantial revenue because of the recalls.