Foodborne illness is typically associated with acute gastroenteritis, caused by intestinal infection by bacteria, viruses, or parasites. The actual scope of foodborne disease is however much broader than this. Intestinal infections with common pathogens such as Campylobacter or Salmonella may result in disabling complications, long-term health outcomes, or even death. Furthermore, foodborne hazards include a broad range of microbiological and chemical agents, several of which are able to cause extra-intestinal disease, e.g., central nervous system manifestations due to congenital toxoplasmosis or cancer due to heavy metal exposure.

In addition to the health impacts, the economic burden of foodborne disease affects many segments of society, e.g., the individual who becomes sick from consuming tainted food, the retailer who sells the contaminated product, the food producer who allows contamination, and the government agencies that monitor, investigate, and regulate all incur costs from foodborne disease. Accordingly, economists have been very interested in assessing the costs associated with foodborne disease.

In this chapter, we present an overview of the key methodological approaches that have been used to generate estimates of the health and economic burden of foodborne disease.