Americans lose more than their lunch when they get food poisoning. A new study published in the Journal of Food Protection estimates that the economic loss of foodborne illness in the United States comes in around $77 billion annually. While that sounds like an astounding number, it's actually a dramatic drop from previous years' estimates.
Previous annual estimated losses clocked in around $152 billion. While both studies were authored by Robert Scharff, a professor of consumer science at Ohio State University, Scharff was able to hone his estimate thanks to much better research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) than was available in the past. According to Food Safety News, the CDC estimates that there are roughly 48 million cases, 3,000 deaths, and 128,000 hospitalizations from foodborne pathogens each year.
What makes up that $71 billion loss? According to Scharff's research study, his cost-of-illness model includes "economic estimates for medical costs, productivity losses, and illness-related mortality." And this year, the "enhanced cost-of-illness model replaces the productivity loss estimates with a more inclusive pain, suffering, and functional disability measure based on monetized quality-adjusted life year estimates." Basically, the research focuses on the overall impact the illness has on U.S. productivity, individual suffering, and related medical expenses.
However, the study does not take into account the enormous loss to the food industry caused by recall costs, litigation, and loss of consumer confidence. Nor does it consider, says Food Safety News, the costs to public health agencies that respond to illnesses and outbreaks. With all the food recalls and outbreaks — remember this summer's cantaloupe that contained lethal listeria — we can only imagine that tabulation being much, much greater.