The Role of Public-Private Collaborations in Global Food Safety
International trade affects everyone, especially in terms of the foods we consume and the foods we export to other countries. Global food trade has increased the amount and variety of foods offered to consumers, but has also prompted questions regarding the safety of foods grown and developed in distant lands. Consequently, food safety is a vital global public health issue. The World Health Organization estimates that contaminated foods are responsible for approximately 600 million cases of foodborne illness and 420,000 deaths per year.[1]
Food safety—or the lack thereof—can have major economic impacts for companies and countries exporting food. In fact, foodborne outbreaks are estimated to cost U.S. industry about $7 billion per year.[2] While that cost may seem steep, it doesn’t reflect the entire economic impact of an outbreak. Researchers found that foodborne pathogens impose over $15 billion in economic burden on the U.S. public each year. The negative reputation associated with food safety issues can tarnish the reputation of a food-exporting country, causing both consumers or corporate customers to lose faith in the country’s food safety system.
For example, Chinese consumers and importers of Chinese foods lost trust in China’s ability to provide safe foods in the wake of the 2008 scandal involving milk products tainted with melamine, a chemical added to milk to falsely create the appearance of higher protein quality. In this case, the milk producers took a hit and China lost credibility as a food exporter. This case and other highly public outbreaks convinced lawmakers and the food industry to make changes to our food safety systems.