Costly Food-Borne Illnesses Call for Safety Reform |
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A new study released on Wednesday estimates health-related costs of food-borne illnesses total $152 billion annually. This encompasses direct medical costs, lost wages and lower productivity. These figures are over four times larger than previous estimates by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The report, sponsored by the Produce Safety Project at Georgetown University, noted unknown causes accounted for two-thirds of all costs.
Food-borne illnesses can very in severity. Minor cases of gastrointestinal discomfort or diarrhea often go unnoticed when compared against fatal cases of salmonella, e. Coli or botulism.
Recent outbreaks and recalls of products such as peanuts, pistachios, ground beef, spinach, tomatoes and peppers brought great attention to food safety failings.
Riding a wave of consumer outrage and industry embarrassment, both the House of Representatives and Senate passed food safety bills in 2009 that promised to overhaul many outdated regulations.
However, the health care debate sidetracked any momentum behind those bills and it is unclear when Congress will return to those discussions.
Still, with partisan bickering stunting any legislative progress, lawmakers may look to a consumer-oriented initiative such as food safety reform to return to the business of legislating.
