Food Safety In the United States, food safety risks are at the lowest they have ever been, however in order to maintain this low risk, public demand for effective food policies is at an all time high. Food is actually the source of over 200 known diseases, exposing us to various bacteria, viruses, toxins, parasites, metals, and prions. According to information provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) food borne diseases are known to cause around 3,000 deaths yearly in the United States; and pathogens such as salmonella, listeria, and toxoplasma are to blame for 30 percent of those deaths. While young children are more likely to fall ill from food, than other age groups, adults 50 and up account for the majority of …show more content…
“Illnesses from bagged spinach in 2006 led to a nationwide scare and the virtual suspension of all fresh bagged spinach sales in America, but there were only three known deaths. In 2011, listeria on melons from Colorado caused the single worst food-borne disease outbreak since 1985, but with only 33 known deaths” (Paarlberg, 186). Food contamination can come from many sources from production, to delivery, and all the way to your plate. In a factory, unsanitary equipment and inadequate sterilization during slaughter can lead to contamination; as well as unclean processing and packaging. In retail outlets, inadequate refrigeration can be an issue, and in restaurants poor hygiene habits of cooks and servers introduce risks for contamination. In order to prevent food contamination, there are federal departments responsible for food safety. The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), is apart of the Department of Agriculture, and is responsible for meat and poultry. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is apart of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and is responsible for everything not covered by the FSIS. State public health agencies and city and country health departments also continuously monitor food safety. A salmonella outbreak in 2010 triggered the passing of a new food safety law (the Food Safety Modernization Act), which gave the FDA the responsibility
Over the years there have been various cases of foodborne illnesses. As humans we tend to try a variety of foods because of our own particular interest. For example, those that may travel out of the United States may be prone to consuming exotic foods that they aren’t typically used to consuming. There have been multiple recommendations to protect one from becoming infected with foodborne illnesses. Many foodborne illnesses are definitely harmful to the body and if the situation isn’t treated by a healthcare professional, death may be the end of result. Foodborne illnesses occur from parasites becoming into contact with the foods we eat, thus putting the human population at risk. When foodborne illnesses are discovered, healthcare officials does a great job with acknowledging the general public of precautions and measures that should be taken.
There was a time where there was no limits to what substances were in products we humans consume or use everyday. It is alarming to think that there could be items in our food or medicine that are potentially dangerous and deadly. It is for these reasons that the Food and Drug Administration came to be. It all started in a time where companies could say anything they wanted about a product without any scientific validation or proof. The government stepped in and established the Pure Food and Drugs Act of 1906 along with a new agency: the FDA. This act's purpose was to protect the public against dangerous substances in food and from products identified as healthy without scientific support. This law was an accumulation of many bills and ideas that aimed to protect consumers from contaminated products. (The Pure Food and Drug Act) Now, the FDA conducts recalls, market withdraws, and safety alerts in order to protect the citizens.
The roles of the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) and the FSIS (Food Safety and Inspection Services) is to regulate the United States supplies of meats, poultry, and eggs to make sure that the product is wholesome and safe to consume. The FSIS’s responsibility is to find a genetic match between salmonella in a person's body and the salmonella in a packaged item that is still in the victim's possession. The USDA is called in once officials find the traces of the contamination. FSIS finally came out and said that foster farms was responsible for the outbreak.
The main public health problem that is discussed in my case is the decline of state funding for food safety. Although it is mentioned that budget cuts are occurring in other state health departments in the United States as well, the population that this case has specifically discussed is in Baton Rouge, Louisiana (Realmuto & Sutaria, 2011). The Louisiana Health Department experienced an influx of budget cuts, where the Environmental Health Department had faced 20% of reductions (Realmuto & Sutaria, 2011). The Louisiana Food Safety Program inherited the most reductions in funds. According to the CDC, 48 million food borne illnesses occurs in the U.S. yearly, 128,000 are hospitalized, while 3,000 die from food borne illness (CDC, 2014). State and local health departments hold a vital role in food safety inspections that are used to prevent food borne illness out breaks. These
The FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) gives the FDA the power to inspect and regulate of food additives. Signed by president Obama, the act aims to ensure the food supply is safe by allowing the FDA have the power to regulate and inspect the food. The FSMA requires food facilities to list out the potential hazards of the food may distribute and what they are going to do to prevent and provide documentation. Also, to further help reduce food additives problems, consumers can inform their grocery stores and remove harmful food additive. By taking generally step to notify the store owners, it will inform and tell the FDA that there is a problem with food regulation that needs to be
Recently there has been a rise in food-borne illnesses in both homes and restaurant settings. It is important that everyone knows the appropriate ways to prevent such conditions. Preventing food-borne illnesses like salmonella, norovirus, and staphylococcus aureus are not as difficult as one might think, but it is essential that appropriate precautions are taken to minimize the risks of infection. Although some people only experience gastrointestinal distress from food-borne illnesses, others (particularly children and the elderly) can experience more serious complications.
According to John Cage, "Food, one assumes, provides nourishment, but Americans eat it fully aware that small amounts of poison have been added to improve its appearance and delay its putrefaction.” I agree with Cage who food that can cause disease in several stages, from production to transport, storage, processing, cooking, and eating. Foods with a high risk of contamination include poultry, eggs, dairy products and fish or shellfish. Therefore, food safety is a matter of particular importance around, is actual to eat the food safety is becoming the fundamental right for every human being because it contributes greatly to improving human health people, quality of life and
In 2015 there was a foodborne illness outbreak at Chipotle; a common and very popular restaurant. The outbreak had hit several states and a total of 22 were effected by E. Coli and some even had to be hospitalized (Time 1). This goes to show that consumers are not being concerned enough with the food they are eating, even at a favorite restaurant. Foodborne illnesses are preventable, a common problem, and health issue, but they can be very serious and even fatal. Studies shows that there have been 48 million cases of food borne illnesses annually which is 1 in 6 Americans each year. This results in 128,000 hospitalizations and 3,000 deaths (U.S Food and Drug 1). Food Borne illnesses are infections that are usually caused by bacteria, molds and toxins, parasites, and allergens. Specific examples of the dangers of food safety are illnesses such as botulism, E. coli, and salmonella. These illnesses can lead to long term effects including, kidney failure, chronic arthritis, brain damage, and even death. Most people are not aware of the food they are consuming and need to be more concerned to prevent any further illnesses or problems. Consumers are not aware enough of the
Foodborne illnesses are a problem in the United States. Foodborne illnesses are a problem because it is almost impossible for a pathogen to be identified by looking at a piece of meat. These foodborne illnesses are found mostly in packaged meat. Large corporations who process and package meat, cut corners in safety procedures so they can make more money. In, fact these corporations could take further action to prevent the spread of E Coli however that would cost them more money. Large corporations, however, pay so that laws like this won’t be put in place. Most of these corporations have former executives working in the government. There is a simple way to prevent the spread of foodborne illnesses, simply lobby for laws to be put in place for better safety procedures.
Nowadays, food safety is under the media spotlight both nationally and internationally. In Taiwan, we could keep having news reports on food safety scandals like the gutter oil scandal in September 2014, which many famous food brands were disclosed with the use of tainted oil in their products, to tea leaves with excess residual pesticide, during these two years. While in Hong Kong, there were cases like consuming puffer fish maws containing tetrodotoxin and prepackaged salad leaves suspected to be contaminated with salmonella. It is important to ensure the food safety as food is the psychological need for human survival and to prevent a mass outbreak of food poising in our
It goes without saying that food safety is an unresolved issue provoking heavy criticism in our country recently. Many sellers now desire to make more profits I guess regarding for other people's health. They make use of stale food to cook meals for students or workers who do not have the capacity to order food from expensive restaurants. In addition,they also pump chemicals into meat, vegetables or fruits or fruits to make these products weigh more heavily or look fresh. As a consequence, people get food poisoning every day. This callousness has a lot to answer for the premature deaths of thousands of people. Therefore, solutions have been suggested to prevent this problem from deteriorating. Initially, strict laws must be enacted to ban
Anybody can get food poisoning; men, women, children and even babies, therefore the inspection of food is such a great concern to all Americans. According to the centers for Disease control and prevention article, there are nearly and approximately 5000 deaths in the United States each year due to food- related illness. The good news here is that food poisoning illness is nearly 100 percent preventable if precaution is taken. With programs, such as the HACCP, meat, fish, fruit and vegetable inspection.
At a time where food security remains a top concern, several countries have begun implementing regulations to protect their population for food-borne illnesses. Moreover, these countries understand the risk of their citizens contracting diseases such as Ebola and Listeria. Without adequate regulation, numerous people remain predisposed to such illnesses. For those unaware, these illnesses wreak havoc on the human body. In addition to countries such as the United States stepping up, corporations and businesses have also decided to make a difference. However, few corporations possess such aptitude for food security other than OSI Industries. For those unaware, OSI Industries remains a multi-billion dollar company that specializes in food preparation.
Many people eat food that is healthy and unhealthy. Today, we live in a world with a growing fast food industry that markets all of their food on the television. Escaping the world of all of this and keeping a balanced diet is becoming harder as years go by. This has now become a major problem in the United States because we are struggling to find healthy food to eat. Most US citizens are now on the verge of becoming obese and overweight. Americans consume too much unhealthy food resulting from poor spending, imbalanced eating habits, and not reading food labels.
China. Prescribed by Article 11 of the Food Safety Law, it is up to the “Health Administrative Department of the State Council” and the state council departments of industry and commerce, quality supervision, administration and management, and national food and drugs supervision departments to create a national food safety program to monitor hazards (State Council of China, 2012). These regulations adopted in 2009 set up strict standards that help regulate quality control for food and produce companies. Anyone who wishes to go into business in China has to obtain approval for their business and to secure approval to “engage in food production in line with” the Food Safety Law (Council of China, 2012). Quality supervision and admin departments have to inspect any relevant products in accordance to the laws to maintain a level of food safety. Companies have to screen for the health of their employees to prevent any