Foodborne illnesses are caused by ingesting bacteria, fungi, parasites, viruses, toxins, or other harmful substances in contaminated food. Knowing the costs of foodborne illness helps policymakers rank risks, focus policy, and prioritize spending. Some of the first economic estimates of the costs of foodborne illness were provided by ERS.

FoodNet Fast makes it easy to get information on cases of illness reported to the Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network (FoodNet). It has data on nine pathogens transmitted commonly through food: Campylobacter, Cryptosporidium, Cyclospora, Listeria, Salmonella, Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC), Shigella, Vibrio, and Yersinia. Users can filter the data by pathogen, year, age group, sex, and race.

The Bad Bug Book 2nd Edition, released in 2012, provides current information about the major known agents that cause foodborne illness.