Integrating epidemiological and economic models to identify the cost of foodborne diseases

Despite food technology advancements, food safety policies and alert systems, foodborne diseases are still a relevant concern for consumers and public health authorities, with great impacts on the economy and the society. Evaluating the cost of foodborne diseases may support the design and the implementation of policy interventions. This paper proposes a simple method for cost identification of foodborne diseases, accessible to researchers and practitioners who are not specialist in economics. The method is based on the assumption that epidemiological and economic models can be integrated to understand how the burden of disease determines costs in a wider socio-economic perspective. System thinking and interdisciplinary approach are the pivotal conceptual tools of the method. System thinking allows for the understanding of the complex relationships working among the elementary units of a system (e.g. wildlife, bred animals, consumers, environment, agro-food industry) in the occurrence of a health problem such foodborne diseases. Complex systemic relationships usually cross the traditional boundaries of scientific knowledge (human medicine, veterinary science, economics) and sectoral institutional responsibilities (e.g. ministry of health, ministry of agriculture). For these reasons more scientific disciplines, institutional competences and social bodies need to work together to face complex health problems, in an interdisciplinary framework. The first step of the proposed method is the identification of the potential cost of the disease. To this aim, the authors first focus on the links between epidemiological and economic models, based on the fact that foodborne diseases, likewise other diseases, hit people’s and animals’ aptitude to produce utility and goods for the society (e.g. wellbeing, revenue, safe food). This utility losses are real economic costs. Then they show how simple economic models, such as the food supply chain, can help understand the way costs spread across the economic sectors and the society. It should be underlined that the authors adopt already existing and well rooted scientific tools, focusing in particular that their integration in an interdisciplinary framework can effectively contribute to increase the understanding of complex health problems in a viable way.