Foodborne Disease*

Food may become contaminated by a variety of different agents, resulting in over 250 different foodborne diseases.

Foodborne disease has emerged as an important and growing public health and economic problem in many countries during the last two decades.

Illness from foodborne disease has reached epidemic proportions in the United States, even though many cases are mistaken for intestinal flu.

It can damage the structure and function of the intestines, leading to malabsorption, and can weaken the body’s immune system.

Most foodborne diseases are infectious, caused by bacteria, viruses and parasites. Approximately 66% of all foodborne illness outbreaks are caused by bacterial pathogens. Of the 200 foodborne outbreaks reported each year, approximately 60% are of undetermined etiology.

Changed agricultural practices are part of the problem. Antibiotic use in farm animals is the primary cause of the increase in salmonellosis, now a major foodborne disease.

For years, critics warned that the resultant development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria could be followed by animal-to-human transmission. But cattlemen and agricultural officials demanded proof. Proof has now been supplied by several carefully conducted studies tracing human salmonellosis back to resistant bacteria in meat.

Foodborne illness is an important public health problem worldwide. In countries with poor sanitation conditions, diarrheal illness is a leading cause of mortality and malnutrition in young children.

Current food trends contribute to foodborne disease – fads such as steak tartare, marinated raw beef, undercooked goose liver, rare duck breasts, and, especially, undercooked or raw fish; the incidence of infections from the latter two is increasing in the United States.

All of these present serious health problems. Fish tapeworm infections have not been associated with properly canned commercial fish, but the larval parasite can survive up to 400 days in iced fish.

As a result of the increased global trade in food it is also likely outbreaks covering larger areas and affecting several countries will be recognized in larger numbers in the future.

Accurate estimates of the yearly incidence of foodborne disease are difficult and sometimes impossible depending on the reporting systems in different countries.
Foodborne Disease