Foodborne illness: a growing problem.

90% of individual cases of foodborne illness in industrialized countries are unreported and as such do not appear in official morbidity statistics. This figure grows to 99% in non-industrialized countries yet in developed countries the associated cost of these illnesses is estimated at US$10000 million/year. Microbiological contaminants are responsible for 90% of the episodes of foodborne illness including: typhoid fever non-typhoid salmonelloses cholera diarrhoeal diseases bacterial and amoebic dysenteries botulism hepatitis A and trichinellosis. In industrialized countries most of these illnesses have declined; however salmonellosis and a few others have increased 10 to 20 fold in countries like Germany. Similar trends are present in the US. Canada Finland and the United Kingdom. In the Netherlands it was recently estimated that 1.5 million cases of foodborne microbial diseases occurred in a population of 15 million. Contaminants are dangerous because their numbers can be so great that our normal defenses are overcome. Some can produce toxic chemicals that are not destroyed during cooking. The WHO has created 10 golden rules to follow in food preparation and storage. These rules were created to be practical for low-income economies and households.