FDA Faces Increased Public, Political Pressure as Food-Borne Illnesses Rise

Efforts to reduce the number of food-borne illnesses in the United States have reached a plateau and, in a few cases, have started moving in the wrong direction with the incidence of some food-borne illnesses actually increasing, according to a 10-state report released yesterday [April 9, 2009] by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Researchers point to several factors to explain the shifting trend, including the growing complexity of the U.S. food chain, an increase in food imports, and the troubling fact that many bacteria previously associated almost exclusively with raw meat and eggs are now showing up in fresh produce and other foods. Recent examples include food-borne illnesses traced to E. coli 0157 in spinach and salmonella in peanuts, pistachios, even pepper.

Since 1996, the CDC has been collecting data in 10 key states and tracking food-borne illnesses caused by eight bacteria and two parasites—the kind that lead to vomiting, diarrhea, dehydration and sometimes death—and for the first eight years of that period the infection rate for most was steadily declining. Beginning in 2004, however, something changed, and the numbers either leveled off or started to rise again.

Preliminary data for 2008 show that infection rates for five food-borne illnesses exceed the CDC’s national “healthy people” goals for 2010. The rate of salmonella infection was more than twice the national goal, a finding based on information that does not include the salmonella infection from contaminated peanuts that occurred in late 2008 and early 2009, which killed nine people and sickened nearly 700 people nationwide.

All of this is putting additional pressure on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the agency most responsible for food safety in the United States, which is constantly underfunded and understaffed according to periodic reports by the Government Accountability Office. Yet outbreaks of food-borne illnesses caused by contaminated produce is raising serious questions about how the FDA spends the money it does have.

Citing a 2008 GAO report, The Washington Post points out that the FDA “provided little or no oversight” when fresh produce started to become a significant new source of food-borne illness. The FDA inspected less than 1 percent of the fresh produce imported between 2002 and 2007, established no program to routinely examine fresh produce, conducted no research related to the problem, and spent only about 3 percent of its 2007 food-safety budget on fresh produce, the GAO found.

Both Congress and the White House have started to take a hard look at the FDA and the issue of food safety. Several food-safety reform bills have been introduced in Congress, and President Obama has promised to make the issue a priority and to reorganize the FDA for better results. Meanwhile, the FDA is hiring more inspectors and scientists, creating rapid response teams in coordination with public health officials in several states, and taking a more aggressive approach to food-safety issues.

Also Read:

• House Passes Controversial Food Safety Bill; Lawmakers Found to Have Close Ties to Food Industry Lobbyists
• CDC Finds No Progress in US Food Safety -- About.com: US Government Info
• What are the Negative Health Effects of Red Meat
• Can Peanut Butter and Jelly Save the World?
• Doublespeak? Food from Clones is Safe, but Farmers Shouldn’t Sell It