Most of the food borne illnesses in the United States are caused by a fairly short list of pathogens in a limited number of foods, with Salmonella, Campylobacter, and poultry ranking high, the University of Florida's Emerging Pathogens Institute said in a lengthy report released last week. The report cites Salmonella as the leading food borne pathogen, while Campylobacter-tainted poultry leads a list of the 10 food-and-pathogen combinations causing the biggest burdens on public health. Also, poultry leads a list of the 12 food categories associated with the most disease.
Toxoplasmosis
Second on the top 10 list of food-pathogen pairs is pork contaminated with a relatively low-profile pathogen, Toxoplasma gondii.
Toxoplasma, a single-cell parasite that millions of American may carry, also ranks second on the list of pathogens. But the report cautions that data on Toxoplasma in food are scarce. The researchers say their report, Ranking the Risks: The 10 Pathogen-Food Combinations with the Greatest Burden on Public Health, is the first comprehensive ranking of such combinations that has been done for the United States.
The aim of the report is to improve food safety efforts, especially by government. "Government agencies must work together to effectively target their efforts," said lead author Michael Batz in a press release. "If we don't identify which pairs of food and microbes present the greatest burden, we'll waste time and resources and put even more people at risk."
Top 10 combinations
Looking at the top 10 food-pathogen combinations, the authors say Campylobacter-tainted poultry leads the list, causing more than 600,000 illnesses and 55 deaths a year, as well as $1.3 billion in economic impact and 9,500 Quality Adjusted Life Years (QALY) lost. The other nine pathogen-food combinations and their impacts, in descending order, are:
- Toxoplasma in pork: $1.2 billion and 4,500 QALYs
- Listeria in deli meats: $1.2 billion and 4,000 QALYs
- Salmonella in poultry: $700 million and 3,600 QALYs
- Listeria in dairy products: $700 million and 2,600 QALYs
- Salmonella in complex foods: $600 million and 3,200 QALYs
- Norovirus in complex foods: $900 million and 2,300 QALYs
- Salmonella in produce: $500 million and 2,800 QALYs
- Toxoplasma in beef: $700 million and 2,500 QALYs
- Salmonella in eggs: $400 million and 1,900 QALYs
Taken together, the top 10 food-pathogen pairs cause $8.1 billion in medical costs and lost wages, according to the report. They lead to about 3.9 million illnesses, 39,915 QALYs lost, and 765 deaths.
Poultry most susceptible
Considering food categories, the report says poultry causes more foodborne disease than any other kind o food. "Contaminated poultry is responsible for $2.4 billion in costs of illness, primarily due to Salmonella and Campylobacter," it states. The authors say the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) should consider toughening its recently announced performance standards for these two pathogens in chicken and turkey, which take effect in July. "The new standards are expected to reduce illness from these pathogens by just 1 to 2%, not enough to make a big difference from a public health standpoint."
Source: Vetsweb. For more information on good food safety practices or for a copy of the report, visit the Emerging Pathogens Institute website at www.epi.ufl.edu.
