20-Year Economic Burden of Foodborne Illnesses Linked to Flour as High as $258 Million
A recent study, funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA’s NIFA), has estimated the economic burden of foodborne illnesses linked to flour and flour-based food products in the U.S. from 2001–2021 to be as high as $258 million.
According to the study, which was conducted by researchers at Michigan State University (MSU) and Ohio State University (OSU), the total economic burden of foodborne illnesses in the U.S. could be as high as $97.4 billion, annually. However, incidence and cost estimates have limited use with regards to food safety controls if they cannot be attributed to specific foods; therefore, the study focused on wheat flour and flour-based foods to fill an existing knowledge gap, due to the commodity’s association with foodborne illness cases. The study had two main objectives: