HC Deb 16 May 2000 vol 350 c69W
Mr. Tyler

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the impact of conventional farming methods on levels of food-related illness and the cost of treating food-related illness in the NHS. [118572]

Ms Stuart

There has not been any assessment carried out of the impact of conventional farming methods on the levels of food-related illness. Indeed, it is usually not possible to trace the source of sporadic cases of food poisoning (which constitute the majority of cases) to a specific food, let alone to a specific food producer.

Although we have a good estimate of the total number of cases of infectious intestinal disease, and their cost to the National Health Service, it is not possible to say what proportion of this is foodborne. On the basis of a large study carried out in 1994–95, the cost to the NHS in England of treating illness due to the major food poisoning bacteria, Salmonella and Campylobacter, alone was between £26 million and £30 million per year from 1997 to 1999.