Estimates on the cost of foodborne illness in Australia have revealed poultry is associated with the highest burden.
In 2023, Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) commissioned the University of Melbourne and the Australian National University to estimate the annual cost of foodborne illness caused by food commodities and pathogens. The project was based on work by the Australian National University to estimate the cost of foodborne illness in the country.
Foodborne disease costs Australia AUD 2.81 billion (U.S. $1.85 billion) annually. However, attribution of costs to specific food groups remains a challenge. This information is important when making regulatory decisions and prioritizing resources for research, monitoring, surveillance, and standards development.
Expert elicitation has been used to create estimates to better support regulators’ decision-making. The project combines attribution estimates from microbiologists and other experts. The University of Melbourne carried out an expert elicitation process to attribute illness due to eight pathogens to specific foods.
Poultry and Campylobacter
The pathogens were non-typhoidal Salmonella, Campylobacter, Listeria monocytogenes, Toxoplasma gondii, Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC), Yersinia, Vibrio, and Bacillus cereus. The latter two agents were not included in the costing model.
The food groups were beef, lamb, pork, poultry, eggs, dairy (milk and cream, fresh uncured cheese, brined cheese, soft-ripened and firm-ripened cheese), finfish, crustaceans, mollusks, fruit, grains and seeds, nuts, vegetables (fungi, leafy vegetables, and herbs, root vegetables, sprouts, vine-stalk), and others.
Cost estimates used data on the disease burden including illness, hospitalizations, deaths, and sequelae, the financial costs of illness including direct and indirect costs, the cost of premature mortality, and the non-financial costs of pain and suffering.
Of the total $721 million (U.S. $474 million) estimated for the six they have included pathogens, the greatest cost was attributed to poultry at $328 million (U.S $216 million), with $279 million (U.S. $184 million) due to Campylobacter, $35.5 million (U.S. $23.3 million) due to Salmonella, and $2.86 million (U.S. $1.9 million) to Listeria monocytogenes. Other commodities with high costs were vegetables ($107 million/U.S. $70.4 million), dairy ($61 million/$U.S. 40.1 million), beef, and pork (both $56 million/$U.S. 36.9 million).
Vegetables were associated with 26 percent of the costs due to Salmonella and 23 percent of the costs due to Listeria monocytogenes. In comparison, beef was associated with 34 percent of the costs due to STEC and 23 percent of the costs due to Toxoplasma gondii.
Analysis by pathogen
Poultry was the leading source of Campylobacter, with an annual cost of $280 million (U.S. $184 million) from 174,000 cases of initial illness, 28,000 cases of sequel illness, 5,920 hospitalizations, and eight deaths. The next three most frequent sources were other vegetables and beef.
Vegetables were the main source of Listeria, with a total annual cost of $21 million (U.S. $13.8 million) from 22 hospitalizations and four deaths. The next three most frequent sources were dairy, fruit, and finfish.
Vegetables were the leading source of Salmonella, with an annual cost of $42 million (U.S. $27.6 million) arising from 15,300 initial illnesses, 2,630 cases of sequel illness, 1,150 hospitalizations, and three deaths. Other major sources were poultry, eggs, and beef.
Beef was the leading source of STEC, with an annual cost of $4.6 million (U.S. $3 million) in 864 cases of initial illness, 25 sequel illnesses, 38 hospitalizations, and one death. The next three most frequent sources were vegetables, dairy, and lamb.
Beef was the top source of toxoplasma, with a total annual cost of $3.5 million (U.S. $2.3 million) arising from 3,380 cases of illness and eight hospitalizations. Other frequent sources were lamb, vegetables, and pork.
For Yersinia, pork was the leading source, with an annual cost of $6 million (U.S. $3.9 million) arising from 3,510 initial illnesses, 377 cases of sequel illness, and 32 hospitalizations. The next three most frequent sources were vegetables, beef, and lamb.
A relatively high cost of $56 million (U.S. $36.9 million) could not be attributed to any of the 14 food commodities.
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