Food borne diseases affect millions of people. In 1991
alone, some 23,000 cases of salmonellosis were estimated
to have resulted in an overall cost of £40–£50
million in England and Wales (Center for International
Trade Studies, 1997). Health Canada estimates 2.2 million
cases of food borne illness each year in Canada,
resulting in a social cost of $1.3 billion annually (Harris,
1997). In United States, each year, food borne diseases
affect between 6.5 and 33 million people, with medical
costs and productivity losses that have been estimated
at 9.3 to US $12.9 billion (Busby, Roberts, Lin, &
MacDonald).