By the Numbers

—According to Reuters News Service, exports of kangaroo meat to Europe are up 20% this year due to the European mad cow and foot and mouth epidemics. According to the Austrailian Minister of Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry, Warren Truss, Australia exports approximately five million kilos (11,022,927 lb) of kangaroo meat annually, and has exported it to Europeans for 35 years mainly in Germany, France, Belgium and Holland. Smaller amounts are exported to Russia, the Balkans, South African and China. Often considered a delicacy, kangaroo is eaten as steaks, used in sausages and deli products, and is also ground up to make hamburgers.

—According to the USDA Economic Research Service (ERS), the most common foodborne pathogens cause an estimated loss of $7 billion per year. ERS evaluated medical costs and lost productivity caused by E. coli O157:H7, non-O157:H7 shiga-toxic E. coli (STEC), Listeria, Salmonella and Campylobacter, and determined this figure based upon the following statistics:

The annual cost due to E. coli O157:H7 was $659.1 million; the estimated number of cases was 62,458 with the most severe occurring when patients contracted hemolytic uremia syndrome which can cause kidney failure and death.
Non-O157:H7 shiga-toxic E. coli (STEC) had an annual estimated cost of $329.7 million with a total of 31,229 cases. STEC and E. coli O157:H7 cases combined account for a total of $988.8 million in costs.
Listeria amounted to 2,298 cases annually with an estimated cost of $2.33 billion a year. Although it has the fewest reported cases, contracting Listeria has detrimental effects for newborns, pregnant women, elderly individuals and immuno-compromised patients.
The estimated annual cost due to Salmonella was $2.38 billion, which infected 1.34 million people. Although not potentially fatal, approximately 550 people die each year from Salmonella poisoning.
Campylobacter was responsible for $1.21 billion annually from a reported 1.85 million cases. Most reported cases are not severe. However, approximately 1,000 people annually develop a paralyzing complication known as Guillian-Barre syndrome, which accounts for more that half of the total medical costs.

These costs are not paid for by the food industry, but by those individuals who contract the illnesses.

—A new phenomenon has caught hold of the beverage industry: enhancing products with active ingredients found in dietary supplements and herbal medicines. The market for these “functional” beverages (drinks that promise health benefits beyond their inherent nutritional value) has nearly doubled in the last four years, from $2.68 billion in 1997 to 4.7 billion in 2000. According to the market research firm of Frost & Sullivan, sales of all functional foods have also risen, from $11.91 billion in 1995 to 23.4 billion last year. Each area is estimated to grow by at least 20% this year alone according to Frost.