The extent to which long-term health outcomes (LTHO) are incorporated into risk assessments and public policy decision making is an area for development. Acute impacts are widely appraised while long-term sequelae such as reactive arthritis, kidney disease, mental impairment and paralysis are poorly identified and quantified, both necessary steps for incorporating LTHOs into hazard characterizations in risk assessments. Evidence of the disease burden for LTHOs indicates that their importance can be as great as the acute burden for some pathogens. By ranking foodborne pathogens based on disease burden (both acute and LTHO) rather than incidence provides insights into the true societal and public health costs, and will help researchers and policy-makers identify major opportunities for prevention, control and the reduction of the disease burden. This symposium brings new research findings from Europe and North America to update our knowledge of the array and importance of LTHOs associated with foodborne illness and how public policies may influenced to improve food safety performance.

Presentations