Foodborne disease continues to be a common and serious threat to public health all over the world and is a major cause of morbidity.
Both industrialized and developing countries suffer large numbers of illness and the incidence on a global basis, appears to be increasing.
Most foodborne illnesses are mild, and are associated with acute gastrointestinal symptoms such as diarrhea and vomiting.
Sometimes food borne disease is much more serious and is life threatening, particularly in children in developing countries and infection can also be followed by chronic sequelae or disability.
In many countries where information on foodborne disease is collected, the total number of cases has been increasing over the past 20-30 years.
Some of the increase recorded are undoubtedly due to improved systems for information collection and reporting, better diagnosis and a greater awareness of food safety, but these changes do not explain the general increase observed.
In recent years, the increased awareness of food safety, changes in regulatory and educational measures and changes in practice in food production have led to decreases in incidence of particular foodborne diseases in some regions.
Foodborne Disease
