Food Safety

Because most cases of foodborne illness go unreported, existing data may understate the extent of the problem. However, the best estimates indicate that millions of Americans become sick and thousands die each year because of contaminated food. Moreover, public health officials believe that the risk of foodborne illnesses has been on the rise during the past 20 years. The precise cost of foodborne illnesses is unknown, but recent estimates place the cost as high as $22 billion annually. According to Department of Agriculture estimates, the cost of medical treatment and lost productivity related to foodborne illnesses from seven of the most harmful bacteria approached $10 billion in 1993. Public health and safety officials believe that current data on foodborne illnesses do not provide a complete picture of the risk level and do not sufficiently describe the sources of contamination and the populations at greatest risk. In 1995, federal and state agencies began to collect more uniform and comprehensive data across the country. Because of budget constraints, federal officials are concerned that they may not be able to continue this effort long enough to collect meaningful trend data. GAO summarized this report in testimony before Congress; see: Food Safety: Reducing the Threat of Foodborne Illness, by Robert A. Robinson, Director of Food and Agriculture Issues, before the Subcommittee on Human Resources and Intergovernmental Relations, House Committee on Government Reform and Oversight. GAO/T-RCED-96-185, May 23 (nine pages).

GAO found that: (1) between 6.5 million and 81 million cases of foodborne illness and as many as 9,100 related deaths occur each year; (2) the risk of foodborne illness is increasing due to changes in food supply and consumption, recognition of new causes of foodborne illnesses, new modes of transmission, increased resistance to long-standing food-processing and storage techniques, and emerging virulent strains of well-known bacteria; (3) while foodborne illnesses are most often brief and do not require medical care, a small percentage cause long-term disability or even death; (4) foodborne illness may cost billions of dollars every year in medical costs and lost productivity; (5) the current voluntary reporting system does not provide sufficient data on the prevalence and sources of foodborne illnesses; (6) efforts are under way to collect more and better data on the prevalence and sources of foodborne illnesses; and (7) more uniform and comprehensive data on the number and causes of foodborne illnesses could lead to more effective control strategies.