Foodborne illnesses kill over 900 Americans each year, researchers find

Foodborne illness kills hundreds of Americans a year, sickens tens of millions annually, and costs billions in medical care, lost productivity and premature deaths, federal researchers said in a report. 

Roughly 10 million cases of foodborne illness each year in the U.S. are caused by six pathogens — salmonella, listeria monocytogenes, campylobacter, clostridium perfringens, shiga toxin-producing E. coli and norovirus, according to a coming study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The illnesses result in about 53,300 hospitalizations and more than 900 deaths annually, according to CDC estimates cited this week by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO).

The economic impact of these diseases is severe, costing an estimated $75 billion (in 2023 dollars) annually, including costs associated with secondary chronic illnesses and conditions that develop after the initial illness, according to the findings published Monday by the GAO, which also cited research by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service.