How much does Foodborne Illness cost the US? Take a guess…

March 9th, 2010. By AbiK

A whopping $152 billion each year. Yes, $152 BILLION.

So says a report conducted by the Produce Safety Project at Georgetown University that’s titled Health-Related Costs From Foodborne Illness in the United States (3/3/10). The $152 billion reflects not only health-related costs such as physician services, hospital services and medicines but also what’s referred to as “quality-of-life losses”—i.e., deaths, pain, suffering and disability.

According to an article at healthfinder.gov, the magnitude of the cost comes from the sheer number of individuals affected each year by foodborne illness: an estimated 76 million Americans—of which about 5,000 die.

Some more stats from the report:

Costs by pathogen: Campylobacter: >$18.8 billion; Salmonella: $14.6 billion; Listeria: $8.8 billion.

Biggest culprit: Produce. Think spinach, lettuce… 39% of E. coli outbreaks were due to produce regulated by the FDA.

States with highest foodborne illness-related costs: California, Texas, New York, Florida and Pennsylvania.

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