YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT

The concept that what we eat might be an important cause of human disease would not surprise most of the world’s population. However, the fact that infected food is such a significant problem in the West causes distress—especially to governments who, in the UK, have pledged to reduce the problem by 20% in 4 years. Clearly reliable data on the burden of foodborne disease would be helpful in evaluating such targets. Adak and colleagues have used a number of data sources and applied corrections. Since 1992, there are fewer foodborne infections and related deaths, but the number of hospitalisations has changed little. Campylobacter is by far the most significant problem which must be tackled if the government’s targets are to be …