Principles and costs in the regulation of microbially contaminated foods

A strong code of regulations exists in the United States to control pathogens and other microbes in food and drink. Despite strict enforcement, food-borne illness persists. Parasitic animals in foods are particularly difficult to detect because there are no simple culture systems for their multiplication and because sanitary measures against fecal contamination are ineffective against parasite species transmitted by other routes. To attain a high degree of safety, total processing of foods by heat- and/or irradiation-pasteurization combined with sterile packaging may be required. The cost of regulating food-borne microbes, while large, is probably surpassed by the cost of food-borne illness (estimated to be US$50 billion annually), resulting in net savings.