SCIENCE, COMMUNICATIONS, & GOVERNMENT RELATIONS

IFT Issues Update on Foodborne Pathogens
An estimated 76 million cases of foodborne illness occur each year in the United States, costing between $6.5 billion and $34.9 billion in medical care and lost productivity (Mead et al., 1999; Buzby and Roberts, 1997). Of the estimated 13.8 million cases of foodborne illness due to known agents, roughly 30% are due to bacteria. The remaining cases of known etiology are due to parasites in 3% of the cases and viruses in 67% of the cases; bacteria are the c…