The number of Australians struck down by food poisoning has leapt almost 80 per cent in a decade and the number of outbreaks linked to restaurants has more than doubled, according to the latest government statistics.
In the decade to 2011, the number of Australians affected by food-borne gastroenteritis increased 79 per cent, according to figures from OzFoodNet, the national food-borne disease monitoring network. In 2011, 150 outbreaks affected 2241 people compared with 86 affecting 1768 people in 2001. The rate of hospitalisation has trebled since 2001.
The figures capture only a fraction of infections since most victims don’t go to a doctor, experts say. A 2002 estimate of people affected by food poisoning put the number at 5.4 million cases of gastro and 120 deaths a year at a cost of $1.25 billion.
Changing eating habits are believed to be a leading cause. People cook less and eat out more, say public health experts, which may partly explain why the food service industry was responsible for more than three-quarters of food poisoning outbreaks in 2011.
FoodWorld 