Food Safety
In the fall of 2006, nearly 200 people fell ill with food poisoning from E. coli in spinach, many were hospitalized, many had kidney failure, and a few died. Federal investigators vowed to track down the source, combing spinach fields in the Salinas Valley, CA, for clues.
Don't stop at the spinach fields in your investigation! Try looking into the manure lagoons from nearby factory farms... or travel further, to Washington, D.C. and investigate why the government insufficiently ensures food safety. Factory farms feed cows a diet that promotes E. coli O157:H7 growth, then disposes of their waste irresponsibly... that is how E. coli has infect Salinas Valley spinach and lettuce numerous times in recent years.
Americans trust that the food they buy at restaurants or the grocery store is safe to eat, but business insists that safety is the consumer's responsibility - not theirs. The backbone of our food safety legislation was passed in 1906 after Upton Sinclair's book The Jungle came out. Unless we give our food safety policies a makeover that reflects a century of new science, incidents like the recent E. coli outbreak will continue.
More pages under this heading:
Food Safety: Mercury in FishFood Safety: Antibiotic Resistent Bacteria
Food Safety: E. Coli and Other Foodborne Pathogens
More information
EPA & FDA Fish Advisory (web site) Be warned - just because the government says the fish is safe to eat doesn't mean the fish is safe to eat. Check another website, such as Environmental Working Group.Food Safety Network (web site)
How Safe Is Your Salad? - Dec 16, 2007 (article) New industry rules for leafy greens aim to protect consumers from E. coli. Farmers and conservationists question the science behind the standards
Krugman: Bad Cow Disease (article) June 13, 2008. Krugman calls for a return to Teddy Roosevelt style policies to enforce food safety.
USDA Food Consumption Data (web site)
Organizations
Environmental Defense (organization)Environmental Working Group (organization) The Environmental Working Group has spent several years working on issues such as mercury contamination in seafood.
The Center for Food Safety (organization)
Recent news
AP: Lawmakers Decry FDA Plans to Close Labs (article)CSPI: California Governor Signs Food Safety Law (article)
NYT: FDA Inspections Lax, Congress Is Told (article)
