A new study estimates the annual cost of foodborne illness in Australia from six important pathogens to be $721 million AUD, with nearly half of this cost ($328 million AUD) attributed to poultry sources.
The recently updated Cost Estimates of Foodborne Illness data from USDA break down the total estimated cost of foodborne illnesses per case and per pathogen.
Although the estimated cost per disease incident ranged from $341 USD in Africa to $2,194 in Europe, the total economic burden of invasive non-typhoidal Salmonella was highest in Africa—especially sub-Saharan Africa—due to its prevalence and overall impact to public health in the region.
Preliminary figures from Food Safety Australia New Zealand’s (FSANZ’s) 2025 foodborne illness economic burden estimate suggest that foodborne illness costs the Australian economy approximately $3 billion AUD each year, up from the $2.81 billion estimated in 2023.
A recent study estimated the economic impact of foodborne campylobacterosis contracted from chicken consumption in Australia to be more than $110 million USD annually, with chicken consumption linked to 30 percent of all Campylobacter infections recorded in the country.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has put out a call for experts to inform an updated estimate of the economic impact of foodborne illness at the global, regional, and national levels. The deadline to apply is January 7, 2024.
The effects of climate change are projected to increase the economic burden of foodborne Vibrio infections in the U.S., warns the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service (USDA’s ERS).
To highlight the economic burden of the emergence and transmission of antimicrobial-resistant (AMR) foodborne pathogens, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) recently released a publication on the topic that also suggests actions and policies countries can consider.
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. Salmonella and Escherichia coli were implicated pathogens.
Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) has estimated the annual economic burden of foodborne illness in Australia and has valuated other costs associated with business losses, regulatory activities, and outbreak investigations and surveillance.
