Estimates of the costs of foodborne illness in Australia have shown that poultry carries 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 costs of foodborne illness caused by food products and pathogens. The project was based on work by the Australian National University to estimate the cost of foodborne illness in the country.
Foodborne diseases cost Australia AUD 2.81 billion (US$1.85 billion) annually. However, allocating costs to specific food groups remains a challenge. This information is important in making regulatory decisions and prioritizing resources for research, monitoring, surveillance, and standards development.
Eliciting experts to make estimates has been used to better support supervisors’ decision-making. The project combines attribution estimates from microbiologists and other experts. The University of Melbourne conducted an expert elicitation process to attribute illnesses due to eight pathogens to specific foods.
Poultry and Campylobacter
The pathogens included non-typhoidal Salmonella, Campylobacter, Listeria monocytogenes, Toxoplasma gondii, Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC), Yersinia, Vibrio and Bacillus cereus. The last two agents are not included in the cost model.
The food groups were beef, lamb, pork, poultry, eggs, dairy (milk and cream, fresh raw cheese, pickled cheese, soft-ripened and firm-ripened cheese), fish, crustaceans, molluscs, fruits, grains and seeds, nuts, vegetables (fungi , leafy vegetables and herbs, root vegetables, sprouts, vine) and others.
Cost estimates used data on the burden of disease, including illness, hospital admissions, deaths and sequelae, the financial costs of illness, including direct and indirect costs, the costs of premature death, and the non-financial costs of pain and suffering.
Of the total estimated $721 million (US$474 million) for the six pathogens includedThe largest costs were attributed to poultry: US$328 million (US$216 million), of which US$279 million (US$184 million) was due to Campylobacter, US$35.5 million (US$23.3 million) was due to Salmonella and US$2.86 million ( $1.9 million) to Listeria monocytogenes. Other high-cost commodities included vegetables ($107 million/US$70.4 million), dairy ($61 million/$US40.1 million), beef and pork (both $56 million/$US36.9 million).
Vegetables were associated with 26 percent of costs from Salmonella and 23 percent of costs from Listeria monocytogenes. By comparison, beef was responsible for 34 percent of costs due to STEC and 23 percent of costs due to Toxoplasma gondii.
Analysis per pathogen
Poultry was the main source of Campylobacter, with annual costs of US$280 million ($184 million) coming from 174,000 cases of initial disease, 28,000 cases of subsequent disease, 5,920 hospitalizations and eight deaths. The next three most common sources were other sources, vegetables and beef.
Vegetables were the main source of Listeria, with a total annual cost of US$21 million ($13.8 million) due to 22 hospital admissions and four deaths. The next three most common sources were dairy, fruit and fish.
Vegetables were the main source of Salmonella, with annual costs of US$42 million ($27.6 million) due to 15,300 initial illnesses, 2,630 cases of subsequent illnesses, 1,150 hospitalizations and three deaths. Other important sources included poultry, eggs and beef.
Beef was the main source of STEC, with annual costs of US$4.6 million ($3 million) in 864 cases of initial illness, 25 subsequent illnesses, 38 hospitalizations and one death. The next three most common sources were vegetables, dairy and lamb.
Beef was the main source of toxoplasma, with a total annual cost of US$3.5 million ($2.3 million) due to 3,380 cases of illness and eight hospital admissions. Other common sources included lamb, vegetables and pork.
For Yersinia, pork was the main source, with annual costs of US$6 million ($3.9 million) due to 3,510 initial illnesses, 377 cases of subsequent illnesses and 32 hospital admissions. The next three most common sources were vegetables, beef and lamb.
The relatively high cost of US$56 million ($36.9 million) could not be attributed to any of the fourteen food products.
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