Kevin Kowalcyk should have celebrated his 21st birthday this year.

According to Ohio State researchers, foodborne illness costs an estimated $77.7 billion dollars per year in the United States.

Each year, an estimated 128,000 Americans are hospitalized due to foodborne illness.

The World Health Organization estimates that 420,000 people die each year globally from foodborne disease and 1/3 of these deaths occur in children.

An estimated 600 million people are sickened globally each year by foodborne pathogens. Africa and South-east Asia carry most of the burden.