Post on 20-Dec-2015
transcript
Recalls and food safety
Russell Lilly
Department of Health and Senior services
What we will discuss
Relative risk and risk / benefit analysis All about food recalls What we are doing about it Answer some specific questions
Is it OK to eat fresh veggies?
Absolutely – They are good for you
In the news
Corporate Agribusiness Is Behind Our Deadly Food Supply
Amid high-profile food recalls, FDA inspections languish
"We have a food safety crisis on the horizon," said Michael Doyle, director of the Center for Food Safety at the University of Georgia.
"Our food safety structure is collapsing and endangering public health," said Democratic Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut,
How bad is it?
76,000,000 illnesses 325,000 hospitalizations 5,000 deaths
Some perspective Causes of Death
Heart Disease 654,000 Cancer 550,000 Stroke 150,000 Accidents 109,000
Foodborne illness 5,000– .2%
Our history
1900 Typhoid rate 100/100,000 1950 Typhoid rate 1.7/100/000
Ten Great Public Health Achievements -- United States, 1900-1999
A bigger threat?
Bioterrorism and the Food Supply
By Kevin Coleman , Technolytics October 01, 2004
Some risk is unavoidable
Breakdowns and mistakes in processing
Sometimes where we least expect it
How much food do we eat?
23,000,000,000 pounds of fresh fruit 55,250,000,000 pounds of vegetables 58,250,000,000 pounds of milk and cream 78,000,000,000 pounds of red meat
How much risk?
273,750,000,000 Meals per year
76,000,000 illnesses is– .028%– Or 1 in 3,600 meals cause illness
Our food supply is safe…
Abundant And Cheap
– 11% of disposable income
2 billion people will go to bed hungry tonight
What is a food recall
When a company voluntarily has it’s product removed from distribution because of a problem
How many food recalls do we have
Nationwide about 188 per year
Missouri numbers
2000-28 2004-19
2001-21 2005-20
2002-29 2006-7
2003-16 YTD 2007-7
Notable food outbreaks/recalls
Milk 1986– 16,000 cases of salmonella
Ice Cream 1994– 224,000 cases of salmonella
Cereal 1998– 200 cases of salmonella
Notable food outbreaks/recalls
Hamburger 1997– 20 cases of E-coli 25,000,000 pounds recalled
Spinach 2006– 200 cases of E-coli
4 last week– Peanut Butter - Salmonella– Cantaloupe - Salmonella– Baby food - Clostridium Botulinum– Chicken breast strips - Lysteria
Spinach outbreak
Is it safe to eat spinach again?
Unusual outbreak/recall
Sep 14 FDA warning- do not eat any… Sep 29 update, warning limited to one parent
firm and four others receiving their product
As soon as it reappeared in the distribution chain it would have been from safe sources
What is the government going to do about it?
A lot
Food safety staff in Missouri– USDA dozens to hundreds– MoAg 10– FDA 10– State Health 10– Local Health 200
What have we done?
USDA/MoAg HACCP, Risk based inspections, safe handling instructions, Salmonella enteritidis risk assessment
FDA Produce initiative – Good agricultural practices Sprouts – sample irrigation water, Juice/seafood HACCP
What have we done?
DHSS/LPHA’s Increased capacity, HACCP, Risk based inspections, 1999 food
code – no bare hand contact- ill employee policies
HACCP
A way to look at food safety, focuses on food process not facility requirements– Looks at what can go wrong and prevents it– Involves critical limits, corrective actions and record
keeping
I have seen the results first hand
Do regulations cover transportation?
Yes, and we have discovered problems
There have also been problems at the producer, supermarket, restaurant and in home levels too…
Food Recalls are increasing
Does that mean…
– The system is broken?
– The system is working?
Why are there more recalls
We eat more food Better surveillance We look for more things The food industry has changed More risk advert companies
Foodborne illness surveillance
Our capacity has increased greatly– Lab detection capabilities– Computer tracking and matching
We might have not found the peanut butter 10 years ago
Number one reason for recalls
Undeclared allergens– Not the same as intolerances– Involve the immune system– Can be life threatening
Were largely ignored 30 years ago
The food industry has changed
80% of the nations lettuce comes from the Salinas Valley in California
Large food processing plants can assemble ingredients from all over the country and then distribute finished product just as widely
With our litigious society
Companies want to avoid the risk of being sued– Sometimes they throw away food we would let them
keep after a transportation accident
– More likely to recall product
What we can do
Be aware– Know about recalls
Take recalls seriously– Don’t eat food involved in a recall
Practice safe food handling practices– Check temperatures– Don’t cross contaminate
We want to avoid
Fear Panic Alarmism
We want to promote
Confidence Vigilance Personal responsibility
Where to get Recall information
http://www.recalls.gov/food.html
The risk of not eating…
Far exceeds the risk of eating