Each year, foodborne illness in the US costs consumers $6.9 (million/billion/trillion) dollars.

• A. million
• B. trillion
• C. hundred million
• D. billion

Answer: (D)

Think about the scale of economic impact from illness across the whole population. When many people get sick, even modest costs per case add up quickly because medical bills, hospital care, prescriptions, and lost productivity affect a large number of individuals. That cumulative effect places the total in the billions, not in millions or trillions. A figure in the millions would understate the burden given the widespread health and economic effects, while a figure in the trillions would be far larger than what such annual health costs would reasonably amount to. So the annual cost being around 6.9 billion dollars fits the expected magnitude for foodborne illness in the United States.