Why irradiate food products? Approximately 25% of all food products are lost after harvesting due to insects, vermin, and spoilage. Currently, a significant number of chemicals are used on food products for preserving/preventing insect losses. In roots and tubers, sprouting can be a major cause of losses. In developing countries where handling, transportation, and storage conditions are less ad...

In this issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases, Sivapalasingam et al. [1] describe an elegant epidemiologic investigation of a mul-tistate outbreak of Salmonella enterica se-rotype Newport infection associated with mango consumption. The details of this investigation highlight a number of important issues demonstrating the substantial impact of recent changes in food processing and distribution ...

In 2000, the OzFoodNet network was established to enhance surveillance of foodborne diseases across Australia. OzFoodNet consists of 7 sites and covers 68 per cent of Australia's population. During 2001, sites reported 15,815 cases of campylobacteriosis, 6,607 cases of salmonellosis, 326 cases of shigellosis, 71 cases of yersiniosis, 61 cases of listeriosis, 47 cases of shiga-toxin producing E....

We estimated for Australia the number of cases, hospitalizations, and deaths due to foodborne gastroenteritis in a typical year, circa 2000. The total amount of infectious gastroenteritis was measured by using a national telephone survey. The foodborne proportion was estimated from Australian data on each of 16 pathogens. To account for uncertainty, we used simulation techniques to calculate 95...

This issue of the Journal includes 2 studies that highlight important emerging food-borne-disease threats from very different perspectives. The wide spectrum of ex-traintestinal disease caused by potentially foodborne Escherichia coli is often under-appreciated. Johnson et al. [1] present provocative data suggesting that antimi-crobial-resistant E. coli and extraintesti-nal pathogenic E. coli (...

Nevertheless, there are many reasons for foodborne disease remaining a global public health challenge. As some diseases are controlled, others emerge as new threats. New agents of risk have occupied the ecological niche of those on which control pressure has been exerted, replacing the previous ones. The proportions of the population who are elderly, immunosuppressed or otherwise disproportiona...

The Food and Agriculture Organization's (FAO) interest in emerging diseases caused by foodborne pathogens derives from its role as the leading United Nations agency with a mandate for food quality and safety matters. The Food Quality and Standards Service of FAO's Food and Nutrition Division is active in all areas related to food safety and implements the FAO/World Health Organization Food Stan...

Consumption of red meat has been associated with the risks colorectal cancer (CRC), cardiovascular disease (CVD), foodborne-pathogen related diseases and potential benefit obtained by reduction iron deficiency anemia (IDA). Based on probabilistic models, current for French population were aggregated into a single metric, disability adjusted life years (DALY). In France, per 100,000 people, cons...