ABSTRACT

The safety of the American food supply impacts all races, ethnicities, ages, and income levels. Every year, an estimated 48 million Americans (1 in 6) contract foodborne illnesses (Scallan et al. 2011a; Scallan et al. 2011b) from grocery stores, hospitals, prisons, church banquets, county fairs, restaurants, private homes, schools, and even meal programs like Meals on Wheels (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2011; Vail 2015). The estimated cost of foodborne illness in America each year is $36 billion, with an average case cost of $3,630 per illness (Minor et al. 2014).