[Prevention of food-borne diseases in the Netherlands. Are we on the right course?].

It is estimated that in the Netherlands several hundreds of thousands of patients are affected with food-borne diseases or poisoning each year. Though the symptoms are usually mild and mortality is low, the financial impact on society is enormous. The consumer is hardly aware of this fact and the--substantial--government efforts to achieve prevention are not very effective. In view of the present state of science, it should be possible to ensure the consumer of safe food on the market, which may be eaten without any risk after sound preparation. The origin, magnitude and effects on society of this complex problem are studied in the present review. An attempt is made to evaluate the possibilities of reducing the morbidity of food-borne diseases, regarded by the World Health Organization as the most important problem in public health after diseases of the respiratory tract in the coming decades. Particular attention is paid to the role to be played by the authorities in these efforts to reduce morbidity.