In 2023 US dollars, the cost of foodborne illness in the US was $74.7 billion. Most of this cost was due to serious illnesses whose pathogen cause has been specified. These serious illnesses accounted for 20% of cases but 60% of the total cost. The pathogen causing most foodborne illnesses is rarely identified because most illnesses are relatively mild. Most individuals do not seek medical care. Those who do are generally treated on the basis of their symptoms, rather than on the basis of laboratory tests needed to identify the illness’s pathogen cause. These milder illnesses, whose pathogen causes are unspecified, accounted for 80% of cases and 40% of total costs. Costs vary by pathogen due to both the extent and severity of illnesses they cause. Total costs per pathogen range from $100,000 for cholera to $17 billion for nontyphoidal Salmonella. Average per-case cost by pathogen ranges from $196 for Bacillus cereus to $4.6 million for Vibrio vulnificus. Costs of illness estimates are often used to approximate the public’s willingness to pay to prevent foodborne illnesses. These cost estimates provide a conservative approximation because they do not include the willingness to pay to prevent non-financial impacts of illness, including pain and suffering. @ https://ers.usda.gov/data-products/cost-estimates-of-foodborne-illnesses?ref=foodsafetynews.com
