The food we eatFoodborne illness costs U.S. $152 billion annually

Published 8 March 2010

The most comprehensive study of the subject finds that the cumulative cost to Americans of foodborne illnesses is $152 billion annually; the cost
per case for an individual is $1,850 on average; the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that there are 76
million new cases of food-related illness in the United States every
year, resulting in 5,000 deaths and 325,000 hospitalizations

A new study by a former U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) economist estimates the total economic impact of foodborne illness across the
nation to be a combined $152 billion annually.

The Produce Safety Project, an initiative of the Pew Charitable Trusts at Georgetown University, published the report, Health-Related Costs from Foodborne Illness in
the United States. In addition, an interactive online map that graphically represents this cost information for every state in the nation is available here.

The report ranks states according to their total costs related to foodborne illness and cost per case for an individual, which is $1,850 on average nationwide. The ten states with the highest costs per case
are: Hawaii, Florida, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, the
District of Columbia, Mississippi, New York, Massachusetts, and
New Jersey.

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. Continuing outbreaks every year show that this is not
a problem that is going away.

“The costs associated with foodborne illness are substantial,” says report author Robert L. Scharff, a former FDA economist who is now an assistant professor in the
Department of Consumer Sciences at Ohio State University. “This study
puts the problem of foodborne illness in its proper perspective and
should help facilitate reasonable action designed to mitigate
this problem.”

The release of the report comes as the U.S. Senate may soon vote on comprehensive food-safety legislation. The U.S. House of Representatives passed its food-safety bill (H.R. 2749) last July, and
just before Thanksgiving, the U.S. Senate Committee on Health,
Education, Labor & Pensions unanimously approved the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (S. 510).

“This report makes it clear that the gaps in our food-safety system are causing significant health and economic impacts,” says Erik Olson, director of food and consumer product safety
with the Pew Health Group. “Especially in challenging economic times we
cannot afford to waste billions of dollars fighting preventable
diseases after it is too late. The Senate needs to act on this now and
pass legislation that will improve protections for public health.”

To obtain a copy of the report, visit the Make Our Food Safe Web site.

Despite the substantial magnitude of this problem, the aggregate economic cost of health losses associated with foodborne illnesses has not been examined comprehensively in this way before.

There are a number of ways to estimate the economic impact of foodborne illness. This report uses an FDA cost-estimate approach: health-related costs are the sum of medical costs (physician services,
pharmaceuticals, and hospital costs) and losses to quality of life
(lost life expectancy, pain and suffering, and functional disability).
The report also estimates the cost of illnesses associated specifically
with produce, which is linked to the largest number of outbreaks
involving FDA-regulated foods. For example, E. coli O157:H7 cases in
produce accounted for 39 percent of outbreaks and 54 percent of
illnesses. Using CDC data, the report estimates that foodborne illness
costs related to produce alone are almost $39 billion per year in the
United States.