Millions of adults and children suffer from the ill-health effects of foodborne diseases, especially in developing countries. Owing to erratic surveillance systems, estimates of the burden of foodborne diseases are inaccurate and most likely too low. Official reports indicate relatively small numbers of reported cases. The World Health Organization estimates that annually 1.8 million people worldwide (excluding China), most of whom are children, died from diarrheal diseases caused by microbial agents largely attributed to contaminated food and water.
In earlier times, the risks of foodborne illnesses were mitigated by cooking and eating foods immediately or preserving them through fermentation, drying, or cooling. Food supply chains are now more complex, thus increasing the number of potential points of contamination from farm to table. Agricultural production and the inputs into that production — the preharvest stage — are important potential points of contamination. Owing to globalisation, food contaminated on one farm can now cause multiple outbreaks all over the world.
