Foodborne illness on the decline
FollowNew Australian National University research has found the incidence of foodborne illness has declined slightly and that one quarter of the 16 million cases of gastroenteritis each year are caused by food contamination.
The research tracked the changes in foodborne illness in Australia between 2000 and 2010.
It found the number of cases of foodborne illness fell by 17 per cent, but the number of cases of the two leading causes of hospitalisation, Salmonella and Campylobacter, increased by 24 per cent and 13 per cent respectively.
“On average, each Australian has an episode of foodborne gastroenteritis once every five years,