Source: Chris Scott, MEATINGPLACE, 1/3/12

An update of a study on the economic impact of foodborne illnesses to the U.S. economy each year has found that the estimated $77.7 billion tab is significantly lower than previous research indicated.

The new study, conducted by Ohio State University consumer science professor Robert Scharff, used two cost-of-illness models that included such factors as medical costs, illness-related deaths, pain and suffering and disability among several other parameters. The latest estimate is 49 percent lower than the $152 billion figure calculated in a 2010 study also conducted by Scharff, which relied on data from the Centers for Disease Control from 1999.

Scharff used updated CDC estimates that noted that each year 48 million Americans suffered from domestically acquired foodborne illnesses from 31 pathogens and other unspecified agents that resulted in 128,000 hospitalizations and 3,000 deaths.

The average cost per case of foodborne illness was $1,626, according to the latest study, which did not include costs to the food industry in responding to reports of illness or the cost to local and federal public health agencies as they respond to reported outbreaks.

An abstract of the study, which was published in the latest issue of the Journal of Food Protection, is available here.
 

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