Photo courtesy of Arlington County on flickr
New 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," said Associate Professor Martyn Kirk from the National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health. "Australian authorities have worked hard in the last decade to ensure a safe food supply, so it is disappointing not to see a decline in Salmonella and Campylobacter infections," he said. Salmonella bacteria can be carried in undercooked chicken or eggs, while Campylobacter is commonly found in raw or undercooked poultry meat and raw milk. While the number of Salmonella and Campylobacter cases increased, they accounted for only around five per cent of cases of foodborne illness.
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