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Burden and Risk Assessment of Foodborne Disease

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Food Safety Economics

Part of the book series: Food Microbiology and Food Safety ((PRACT))

Abstract

Foodborne illness is typically associated with acute gastroenteritis, caused by intestinal infection by bacteria, viruses, or parasites. The actual scope of foodborne disease is however much broader than this. Intestinal infections with common pathogens such as Campylobacter or Salmonella may result in disabling complications, long-term health outcomes, or even death. Furthermore, foodborne hazards include a broad range of microbiological and chemical agents, several of which are able to cause extra-intestinal disease, e.g., central nervous system manifestations due to congenital toxoplasmosis or cancer due to heavy metal exposure.

In addition to the health impacts, the economic burden of foodborne disease affects many segments of society, e.g., the individual who becomes sick from consuming tainted food, the retailer who sells the contaminated product, the food producer who allows contamination, and the government agencies that monitor, investigate, and regulate all incur costs from foodborne disease. Accordingly, economists have been very interested in assessing the costs associated with foodborne disease.

In this chapter, we present an overview of the key methodological approaches that have been used to generate estimates of the health and economic burden of foodborne disease.

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Abbreviations

DALY:

Disability-adjusted life year

EFSA:

European Food Safety Authority

FDA:

Food and Drug Administration

FSMA:

Food Safety Modernization Act

GBD:

Global Burden of Disease

QALY:

Quality-adjusted life year

QoL:

Quality of life

RASFF:

Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed

SMPH:

Summary measure of population health

VSL:

Value of statistical life

VSLY:

Value for a statistical life year

WHO:

World Health Organization

WTA:

Willingness to accept

WTP:

Willingness to pay

YLD:

Years lived with disability

YLL:

Years of life lost

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Public Health and Surveillance, Scientific Institute of Public Health (WIV-ISP), Brussels, Belgium

    Brecht Devleesschauwer

  2. Department of Human Sciences, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA

    Robert L. Scharff

  3. Department of Food Science and Technology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA

    Barbara B. Kowalcyk

  4. RTI International, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA

    Barbara B. Kowalcyk

  5. Center for Foodborne Illness Research and Prevention, Raleigh, NC, USA

    Barbara B. Kowalcyk

  6. Department of Animal Sciences, Institute for Sustainable Food Systems, Emerging Pathogens Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA

    Arie H. Havelaar

Authors
  1. Brecht Devleesschauwer
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  2. Robert L. Scharff
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  3. Barbara B. Kowalcyk
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  4. Arie H. Havelaar
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Brecht Devleesschauwer .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Economic Research Service, USDA (retired), Center for Foodborne Illness Research and Prevention, Vashon, WA, USA

    Tanya Roberts

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Devleesschauwer, B., Scharff, R.L., Kowalcyk, B.B., Havelaar, A.H. (2018). Burden and Risk Assessment of Foodborne Disease. In: Roberts, T. (eds) Food Safety Economics. Food Microbiology and Food Safety(). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-92138-9_6

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