Objective To understand the prevalence of foodborne pathogenic bacteria and the excess of some metals and food additives in Taiyuan in 2010,in order to conduct surveillances on the food safety risk factors.Methods Samples were selected from major purchasing places randomly.A total of 540 samples in 8 categories were detected for foodborne pathogens,and 230 samples for some metals and food additives according to the national standard methods.Results The contamination rate for pathogenic bacteria in foods was 10.37%,the exceeding standard rate for some metals and food additive was 9.09%.The contamination rates of pathogenic bacteria in foods in different kinds of packages and from different retail outlets were significantly different.The exceeding standard rates of some metals and food additives in different retail outlets were significantly different.Conclusion The contamination rate for pathogenic bacteria and the exceeding standard rate for some metals and food additives in foods were rather high in Taiyuan,especially in bulk foodstuffs and foods in fair trade markets.