Understanding Risk | The 5 faces of Foodborne Illness

Is eating out safer than eating at home?

Actually it can be thanks to the diligence of operators, regulators and food service workers. Unfortunately, even with the best intentions not all food service is safe. The five faces of foodborne illness is based on statistics provided by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and estimates by Handwashingforlife, South Africa.

• 5,000,000,000 Safe Meals served
• Eating out is one of our favorite activities: over 40% of adults eat a meal purchased away from home every day. While most meals are wholesome, some cause illnesses. Over 35% of the South African Rand is spent on food prepared or served away from home.

• 10,000,000 foodborne illnesses
• 1 of every 4 people will "catch" a foodborne illness this year. Typically, you start to feel sick, develop diarrhea and/or vomiting, and start feeling better all in the same day ... the 24 hour flu ... that isn't the flu!
• The visible costs grossly understate the reality:
• Lost work: estimated at billions of Rand each year!
• Lost customers: will never return to that restaurant, vendor, retailer!

• 500,000 Doctor visits
• About 5% of the people who get sick from food see a doctor: they may be weak and dehydrated from the food flu, or they may have a more serious illness, such as Hepatitis A. Most recover in one to three weeks but chronic conditions often are an unexpected consequence.
• Unfortunately, the vast majority of these illnesses go unreported to the food service operator and the Department of Health. Often no action is taken to contain or control the problem.

• 42,000 Hospitalizations
• Some people become very sick, especially children less than 6 years old, pregnant women, adults over 60, and people with other medical conditions, such as liver disease, cancer, organ transplants or immunodeficiency. Many suffer long lasting effects, including rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn's disease and Guillain-Barre syndrome, causing life-long suffering and cost.
• A simple meal away from home leads to life long suffering.

• 2000 Deaths
• While most people recover from foodborne illness, many don't. About 5 people die each day from something they ate or drank. Highly susceptible people suffering with AIDS, diabetes, heart disease and TB are most at risk. But some foodborne diseases have unusually high mortality rates even among the healthy (these include Listeria monocytogenes, Vibrio parahemoliticus, and E. coli 0157 H:7)
• Media: In South Africa most of these deaths go without notice except to friends and family. The lack of information and media attention allows the problems to be swept under the table.
• Customers continue to dine at high risk locations not knowing that the next bite might be the one that KILLS.
• Depression: personal and financial toll on family/friends/employers