(CBS) Whether it's bad meat or infected produce we constantly hear about major recalls because of food-borne illness like E-coli.

Those infected can become dangerously ill and continue to have health problems years later.

It's not clear how often this occurs but one organization is trying to figure it out.

College student Alyssa Chrobuck considers herself lucky to be alive. At the age of 5 she ate a hamburger contaminated with E-coli. Soon she was in the hospital with her organs shutting down and her parents fearing the worst.

"They had several doctors tell them I was going to die,” said Alyssa, now 20 years old.

She beat the bug but has suffered after effects ever since. The 20-year-old takes 8 medications for a list of ailments from gall stones to high cholesterol.

"I had to get half my thyroid removed last year because I had thyroid nodules pressing on my voice box,” she said.

Every year some 325,000 people are hospitalized because of food-borne illness like E-coli and most recover completely. But how many people go on to have long lasting health problems is not well-known because no one is keeping track.

Nancy Donley plans to change that. Fifteen years ago E-coli killed her son Alex.

Now she's the president of S.T.O.P., which stands for Safe Tables Our Priority.

"There are people who have had long-term kidney problems, diabetes, pancreatic problems, vision problems,” Donley explained.

STOP has started a national registry to find out how widespread the problem is.

“These long-term complications are life threatening, they're life altering and need to be taken very, very seriously,” Donley said.

What STOP finds out will be shared with government researchers in hopes of better understanding cases like Alyssa's and how they can be avoided.

To register cases of long-term effects from food-borne illnesses, click on the following link: S.T.O.P.: Safe Tables Our Priority