Numbers

$1.3 billion

Annual cost to society of illness caused by Campylobacter bacteria in poultry, which came in first place in a new ranking of the costliest combinations of food and disease-causing pathogens. In second place was toxoplasma in pork; in third, listeria in deli meats. Each food-bug pairing costs the U.S. more than $1 billion per year in medical costs, lost wages and long-term disability. Overall, however, the single leading disease-causing bug was Salmonella, which can contaminate produce, poultry, eggs and other foods, and costs society more than $3 billion a year. [via The Washington Post]

April 28, 2011 | +
Related Topics: campylobacter, food-borne illness, Listeria, salmonella, toxoplasma, Facts & Statistics, Numbers

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