ABSTRACT
I undertake a cost benefit analysis of the food safety regulation of production of poultry for the New Zealand domestic market and the reduction in foodborne illness following this. I take a societal perspective to demonstrate that regulation brings both benefits and costs. I derive a cost of illness (COI) estimate of foodborne campylobacteriosis from three previous studies. I apply a cost benefit analysis (CBA) to this estimate, combined with the cost data supplied by industry and the regulator. The benefit:cost ratio was remarkable, showing a good return from the combined efforts of industry and the regulator in reduction of campylobacteriosis; in dollar terms a gain of at least $57.4 million annually. In summary the study demonstrates the high value to the New Zealand economy of investment in food safety compliance at the primary industry level.
Subject(s)
Campylobacter Infections/prevention & control , Food Contamination/prevention & control , Foodborne Diseases/prevention & control , Government Regulation , Guideline Adherence/economics , Poultry/microbiology , Animals , Campylobacter/growth & development , Campylobacter Infections/economics , Cost of Illness , Cost-Benefit Analysis , Food Contamination/economics , Food Contamination/legislation & jurisprudence , Food Handling/economics , Food Handling/legislation & jurisprudence , Foodborne Diseases/economics , Foodborne Diseases/microbiology , Humans , New ZealandABSTRACT
Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC)O157:H7 is a zoonotic pathogen of public health concern worldwide. To compare the local and large-scale geographic distributions of genotypes of STEC O157:H7 isolates obtained from various bovine and human sources during 20082011, we used pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and Shiga toxinencoding bacteriophage insertion (SBI) typing. Using multivariate methods, we compared isolates from the North and South Islands of New Zealand with isolates from Australia and the United States. The STEC O157:H7 population structure differed substantially between the 2 islands and showed evidence of finer scale spatial structuring, which is consistent with highly localized transmission rather than disseminated foodborne outbreaks. The distribution of SBI types differed markedly among isolates from New Zealand, Australia, and the United States. Our findings also provide evidence for the historic introduction into New Zealand of a subset of globally circulating STEC O157:H7 strains that have continued to evolve and be transmitted locally between cattle and humans.
