Monday, March 15, 2010

US cost of foodborne illnesses: $152 Billion , 5,000 deaths per year

Dusk at the CDCImage by Nrbelex via Flickr


Food-borne illnesses cost the United States $152 billion a year, a tab that works out to an average cost of $1,850 each time someone gets sick from food, a report by a former Food and Drug Administration economist says. Source.

The three most expensive illnesses for the nation were campylobacter, common in poultry, at $18.8 billion; salmonella at $14.6 billion; and listeria at $8.8 billion. Both salmonella and listeria are found in multiple foods.

There's an interactive map at: http://www.makeourfoodsafe.org/

From the site:

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that approximately 76 million new cases of food-related illness – resulting in 5,000 deaths and 325,000 hospitalizations – occur in the United States each year.

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