(note – original title was incorrect — should read 48 million not 42 -bc)

The much anticipated new estimates of the burden of foodborne illness in the US are now available from CDC. For the past 10+ years the common calculation estimate was 76 million illnesses/year (about 1-in-4 individuals annually). The new report, released today, points to an estimate of 1-in-6 (or 48 million) illnesses annually.

You can read all about it here, http://cdc.gov/foodborneburden/ (it’s a really nice site, with open, transparent calculations).

I’m sure that there will be lots of folks trying to make comparsions between the two estimates (arguing that there has been major progress) or complaining about how poor the 1999 estimates were, but CDC is clear in providing how they made the estimations and says:

The 2011 estimates reflect innovations in data and methodology that have occurred in the past decade. As with the current study, the 1999 study used the best data and methods available at the time.

Better comparisons for progress can be made with the foodnet data (where increases and decreases, depending on pathogen and year, have been seen). The new estimates provide a more precise look at how many sick folks there are every year. 48 million is still a lot.