THREE WORLDS OF FOOD SAFETY CONCERNS


Te notable food safety events of 2014 summarized above illustrate both the complexity and the diver- sity of food safety issues. From these examples we can identify three “worlds” characterized by differ- ent food safety concerns: X


X


Least developed economies, where foodborne diseases, although prevalent, are not among the highest priorities of public health officials


X


The emerging economies, where foodborne diseases are both highly prevalent and highly prioritized


We examine each below in turn.


Developed Economies: The “Worried Well” As exemplified by the events in Europe cited above, foodborne disease remains an important public health problem in high income countries. Tis is mainly because other infectious diseases in this part of the world have been successfully brought under control. (Less than 7 percent of the dis- ease burden in high income countries is caused by infection, compared with 43 percent in low income countries.)6 Tere are, of course, differences among developed


economies. For example, some countries with rela- tively advanced animal and human health systems are reported to have made litle progress over the last decade in the control of zoonotic foodborne patho- gens (the United States is one example), while others have had notable success with some diseases (such as control of salmonellosis in the European Union).7 From a global perspective, however, an epidemiolog- ical transition has occurred in the countries of this group, and the main health problems associated with food are obesity and the contribution of diets to car- diovascular disease and cancer. 8 Yet paradoxically, as the absolute burden of


infectious disease decreases, the cases that do occur receive more atention from the media, the public, and policymakers. A single outbreak of


Developed economies, where foodborne diseases are of high concern but impose relatively small health burdens


Escherichia coli (a pathogen commonly associated with meat and raw milk) that killed one child and sickened three others led to the restructuring of the national food safety system in Australia. More- over, in developed economies the cumulative cost of even occasional illness in terms of treatment and lost income is high. Foodborne disease has been estimated to cost the US economy US$14–16 bil- lion each year9 and to set Australia back $1.2 billion annually.10 Improvements in food safety along the value chain, especially on farms, have been shown to be realistic and economically feasible. For exam- ple, the cost of achieving a salmonella-safe com- pound feed in Europe was estimated at €1.8–2.3 per ton of feed.11 Developed economies are experiencing an


increasing number of concerns over nonsafety food atributes, including animal welfare, envi- ronmental sustainability, provenance, and food crime. With the European horsemeat scandal of 2013, adulteration and food fraud reemerged as a major issue. Te extensive media coverage of the scandal revealed not only widespread fraud but also


Foodborne disease remains an important public health problem in high income countries. This is because other infectious diseases in this part of the world have been successfully brought under control.


the complexity of the European meat supply chain and the extent of meat imports. Tere is widespread public distrust of the industrial agrifood complex, and many consumers remain unconvinced of the safety of genetically modified foods despite a lack of scientific evidence of risk. Tere is also a wide- spread belief in the greater safety of organic and local products, which is also not well supported by evidence.


FOOD SAFETY 43


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