Food Safety-Glorys Essay

Glory Cruz

Professor Reynolds

English 113B

April 25, 2012

                                                Food Safety and its Consequences

            Concerns regarding food safety have increased due to contamination of producer’s products. Food safety is an important issue in society as it affects the consumers.  Therefore, is there any possible way to avoid food outbreaks since it can affect peoples lives if food is not correctly processed? Food is essential, but food infectivity can result in illness, and widespread contamination, which produces large social and economic costs.

Eating meat that is rare or poorly cooked is the most usual way of possible exposure to E.coli contamination. Bacteria exist in the intestines of some healthy farm animals and contamination of the meat may happen in the slaughtering procedure.  Cows need to eat grass, but cattle industries are giving them corn to eat. Eating corn makes them fatter and can bring health problems to the cows, which then leads to unhealthy meat. Later there can be a chance of the meat containing E.coli.  According to Marler Clarks research, “The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 48 million foodborne illness cases occur in the United States every year.  At least 128,000 Americans are hospitalized, and 3,000 die after eating contaminated food (Clark).” We can see how much it is important for us to take precaution because there are high risks coming from contaminated food.  According to Peter Katels research there were five deaths in a year due to California’s Spinach infected with E.coli bacteria. Fruits and vegetables are healthy for us since they provide us with vitamins, fiber, and minerals, but recently there have been food outbreaks due to contamination of E.coli. They have found that E.coli has been found in lettuce, sprouts and cantaloupe.

Regulations and strict codes are necessary in controlling the processing of foods that may cause harm to the consumers. This is where laws such as the 1906 Federal Meat Inspection Act, Food Safety Modernization Act, and Kevin’s law come in handy. According to the FDA “the law also provides FDA with new enforcement authorities designed to achieve higher rates of compliance with prevention- and risk-based food safety standards and to better respond to and contain problems when they do occur.” It also states that it created sanitary standards established for slaughterhouses and meat processing plants. As for this the FDA also contributes in protecting our health when it comes to food issues and improving food safety. “In January 2011, President Obama signed legislation that gave the F.D.A. new powers to police foreign foods. For instance, the law for the first time gave the F.D.A. the authority to order companies to withdraw foods suspected of being contaminated. Previously the F.D.A. could only ask manufacturers to withdraw suspect foods (NY Times).” The Food Safety Modernization Act is also in charge to keep food supply safe and to prevent contamination. In other words the main goal is to keep our food safe.  They should be conducting inspections more frequently. Not only do these acts have an impact towards food safety, but so does Kevin’s Law.

Kevin’s law is about a real life tragic death due to contamination. It is named after Kevin Michael Kowalcyk, a 2-½ year old boy who died after eating a hamburger contaminated with E.coli. First he was hospitalized for dehydration and afterward his kidneys were worsening.  After being resuscitated twice he then died.  The law “Requires that USDA create and annually update a list of the most dangerous foodborne pathogens, like Salmonella, E.coli O157:H7 and Listeria monocytogenes(Chiff.com).” Elderly people, infants, and pregnant woman are at higher risks from infection of Listeria than other individuals.  It also “Requires that USDA test meat and poultry regularly to ensure that meat and poultry plants don’t exceed government limits on harmful bacteria(Chiff.com).”  This should make us think of what we consume and how it can affect our lives without knowing it will happen. Parents would not like their kids to die of the same situation Kevin did. Kevin’s parents would have never thought that by giving their child an ordinary hamburger he would end up being contaminated with E.coli.

Furthermore I believe a solution is for the Government to invest in food safety that will reduce huge expenses in treating food related disorders. “As with all food producers must be in compliance with local, state and federal health standards and food safety laws (E.Coli).” We should advice Government to make a change to stop foodborne illnesses and deaths as of today and in the future. We can see that the corporations main concern is money and not the well being of its customers.

Overall we can see the effects that come in regards to food safety issue. Even more important consumers should take precautions in order to decrease our chances of contamination. It is the government and food industries duty to ensure that there is no longer contaminated items and keep enforcing laws that help deal with food safety. Food safety laws have been around for many years, but will the US keep protecting people from high risk of food infections.

Works Cited

Clark, Marler. "About Foodborne Illness." Foodborne Illness: Food Poisoning. Web.  26 Apr. 2012.

"E. Coli Facts." E.Coli. Organic Trade Association, 8 June 2011. Web. 24 Apr. 2012.   
                       

"Food and Drug Administration." U.S. Food And Drug Administration. The New York Times, 11 Apr. 2012. Web. 24 Apr. 2012.

Katel, Peter. "Consumer Safety." CQ Researcher by CQ Press. 12 Oct. 2007. Web. 27  Apr. 2012.

"Kevin's Law - Protecting Consumers from Foodborne Illnesses." Chiff.com. Web. 26                          Apr. 2012.

"Rapid Tracing of Food Products Prevents Illness." FDA Transparency Blog. Web. 15            Apr. 2012.