Reliable estimates of both the incidence of foodborne illness and its financial impact are essential for informing policy decisions on food safety. Knowing the size of the problem also helps in assessing the effectiveness of any changes to food safety standards and regulations.

A recently published report, Foodborne illness in Australia: annual incidence circa 2000 (Hall & Kirk 2005), provides the most comprehensive assessment of Australia’s annual incidence of foodborne illness. That report showed that contaminated food caused approximately 5.4 million cases of gastroenteritis per year, along with 6,000 non-gastrointestinal illnesses and 42,000 episodes of long-term effects (chronic sequelae). Foodborne illness also led to 1.2 million visits to medical practitioners, over 300,000 prescriptions for antibiotics and 2.1 million days of work lost each year.

This current study uses the information in the ‘incidence’ report to estimate the annual cost of foodborne illness to Australia. Where possible, costs are based on 2004 prices, although costs of hospital services draw on 2002 cost estimates. The five areas where costs have been estimated are presented in Table 1.

Table 1 Annual costs of foodborne illness in Australia

Area to which costs apply	Cost ($ million)
Individuals and business: all productivity and lifestyle	771.6
Individuals: premature mortality	231.5
Health care services	221.9
Business: food safety recalls	14.0
Governments: foodborne illness surveillance and investigation, and maintaining food safety systems	10.0
Total	1,249.0

The total cost of foodborne illness in Australia is estimated at $1,249 million per annum. All productivity and lifestyle costs amount to $771.6 million (62% of the total). The next highest cost is due to premature mortality ($231.5 million; 19% of the total). Health care services amount to $221.9 million (18% of the total), of which emergency care and general practitioner and specialist services account for two-thirds.

Foodborne gastroenteritis accounts for approximately $811 million annually (81% of all productivity, lifestyle and premature mortality costs). Seven other foodborne illnesses account for the balance of 19% and, of these, listeriosis and reactive arthritis are the major contributors to costs.

Of the costs to health care services, foodborne gastroenteritis accounts for an estimated $200 million (90%). The seven other illnesses account for the remaining $22 million (10%), with irritable bowel syndrome being the most expensive of this group.

The costs to governments of public health actions (foodborne illness surveillance and investigation, and maintaining food safety systems) and the non-productivity costs to business are significant, but minor relative to the other costs of foodborne illness. The estimated cost of public health actions is in the order of $10 million annually (0.8%). Excluding the occasional exceptional cases, the estimated cost of business disruption due to recalls of a food safety nature is in the order of $14 million a year (1.1%).

Although this report is based on carefully considered research, much of the data are subject to some uncertainty. In general, the incidence of foodborne illness may vary by 25% above or below the estimates, thereby affecting the certainty of the cost estimates.

Nevertheless, the estimates in the report show that foodborne illness represents a significant continuing cost to the Australian community, and that efforts by governments, business and consumers to reduce the number of failures in food safety should continue to be encouraged.

This report provides the best available estimates of the costs of foodborne illness, circa 2000. However, the incidence of foodborne illness is unlikely to be static as it is influenced by a range of factors such as new regulations, emerging pathogens, changing agricultural and manufacturing practices, and changing trends in consumers’ food choices and eating patterns.

Similarly, the effects of foodborne illness on Australian society are unlikely to remain the same. Australia has an ageing population and foodborne illness is known to affect vulnerable populations, including the aged, more severely. Consequently, there is a risk that the effects of foodborne illnesses on the economy may increase, unless interventions can reduce the incidence of these illnesses.

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