Top Ten Risky Foods under FDA’s Watch

 

lettuceYesterday, I blogged about a New York Times article that details the myriad flaws in the USDA’s regulation of ground beef. Today, a new report by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) spotlights the Food and Drug Administration’s struggles to ensure the safety of non-meat products.

CSPI examined public health records from 1990 to 2006 and identified the top ten FDA-regulated foods responsible for foodborne illness outbreaks. The top ten is:

  1. Leafy greens
  2. Eggs
  3. Tuna
  4. Oysters
  5. Potatoes
  6. Cheese
  7. Ice Cream
  8. Tomatoes
  9. Sprouts
  10. Berries 

Those foods were linked to 1,500 separate foodborne illness outbreaks and almost 50,000 illnesses, according to the report. To make matters worse, the vast majority of illnesses are never reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the source of CSPI’s data. The report calls reported illnesses “the tip of the iceberg.”

It would be nice if U.S. Senators read The New York Times, or checked the CSPI website. If they did, they might approach food safety reform with far greater urgency, instead of ho-humming along. While the House in July passed its bill aimed at overhauling food safety regulation, the Senate has made little progress. The CSPI report concludes: “The Senate now needs to pass S. 510, the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act. And Congress should complete its critical work on food safety legislation before the end of this year.”

Image by Flickr user clayirving, used under a Creative Commons license.

(Matthew Madia 10/06/09)

Comments

I hate thinking that my food

I hate thinking that my food could be dangerous after buying it from the store. I am paying good money for them to be selling em fresh and safe food. I wouldn't want my body to be attacked by anything. I would have to be at work everyday and one day not there could throw the business out of wack. I can't think that I am eating dangerous food every time I make a sandwich.

Obesity & Magic Pill : I

Obesity & Magic Pill : I personally recognize that wheat is a far better diet than meat on the ground it normally exits body with ease and rapidity, and we are well aware that our heath depends upon smooth metabolism and blood stream associated with the immune system and how important our daily workout is, as well. I still think the critical conditions mostly come from breach of our immune system, and the food that stays long in the body is more likely to become a source where germs, bacterias, viruses and the like multiply. Sounds outlandish, but wheat might be a principal "clean and healthy" food that has led western society to the most decent culture of all. Disadvantages of meat consumption : 1. The food that stays long in the body looks more likely to become a source where germs, bacterias and the like multiply, which even gives birth to critical conditions involving prostate cancer. 2. The consumption of meat proved lethal as earlier this year, the expansive, long-term release concluded about a third of more than 500,000 Americans aged 50-70 with this behavior tends to wind up with premature fatality caused by cancer, hypertension and more. 3. The in-take of pork raises risks of catching swine flue and its mutation, costing around the initially estimated $2trillion dollars word-wide and endangering recovery, (( Genes included in the new swine flu have been circulating undetected in pigs for at least a decade, according to researchers who have sequenced the genomes of more than 50 samples of the virus. The findings suggest that in the future, pig populations will need to be monitored more closely for emerging influenza viruses, reported a team led by Rebecca Garten of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in a report released by the journal Science.)) Still, media downplay this fact out of small thinking to protect meat industry. 4. All but media influenced by meat industry blame calorie for overweight or obesity rather than fat, I still think Fat equals Fat by definition and common sense. 5. Hot dogs are often associated with food-borne illness. Though other food items carry listeria , FDA (Food and Drug Administration) studies have shown a high level of the harmful bacteria on hot dogs, processed meat and ready-to-eat meat products. And consuming hot dogs and other processed meats increases the risk of cancer The class-action consumer fraud lawsuit underway in New Jersey is based on a report from the American Institute for Cancer Research. Its findings included this fact: Consuming one 50-gram serving of processed meat (about the amount in one hot dog) every day increases the risk of colorectal cancer, on average, by 21 percent. Nitrites, used to keep hot dogs fresh, are the main culprit, according to the suit. While nitrites are commonly found in many green vegetables, especially spinach, celery and green lettuce, the consumption of vegetables appears to be effective in reducing the risk of cancer. Because these vegetables also contain Vitamin C and D, which serve to inhibit the formation of carcinogenic compounds, they actually reduce your cancer risk. 6. Two thirds of Americans are overweight or obese, which branch into so many different kinds of diseases, excess body fat increases risk for numerous cancers, costing up to $147 billion a year. 7. America needs to put focus on a sustainable energy industry to become a lead exporter, in place of a fast food business where the overall loss outstrips gain more than known, from my stance. Provided the average temperature is getting higher, accordingly all forms of germs, bacterias, viruses, and influenza etc are more likely to multiply. Some skeptics say the warning against hazards of climate change is overstated, but judging from more frequent and widespread outbreaks of e. coli, salmonella, and bird, swine flu cases endangering human lives and economic recovery seriously, some prompt measures need to be taken, I guess. Also, Breathing toxic chemicals in the outdoor air exposes all Americans to a lifetime cancer risk at least 10 times greater than the level considered acceptable under federal law, shows new data released by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Thank You !

CSPI is notorious for the

CSPI is notorious for the sort of scare mongering that has more to do with raising money and supporting their legislative agenda than in promoting public health. At the National Fisheries Institute, we have specific, common sense guidance on both fresh tuna and oysters that puts today's announcement in the proper perspective: http://www.aboutseafood.com/press/media-blog/outbreak-distortion In short, don't believe the hype.

If you are going to levy such

If you are going to levy such charges against CSPI, please provide evidence or examples.

If anyone's claims should be viewed skeptically, it is the National Fisheries Institute's. It is the major lobbying group for the seafood industry, and a few years ago, it was caught in a scandal when the nonprofit Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies published a report encouraging mothers to eat seafood after receiving funding from the Institute. The public health consensus is that new and expecting mothers should be cautious when making decisions about seafood consumption. More here: http://www.ewg.org/node/25493

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