"Almost 400 Americans have recently fallen ill as part of an ongoing national outbreak due to Salmonella-contaminated tuna.
For me, news like this hits very close to home. About six years ago my mother-in-law and I were both sickened by E. coli in bagged spinach we had in our home. I survived a painful illness, but my mother-in-law perished eight days after eating the tainted food.
Sadly, my family’s experience is not unique. Foodborne diseases claim the lives of approximately 3,000 Americans each year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Those who die are among the annual estimate of 48 million people in the United States who get sick as a result of contaminated food.
To help minimize this public health problem, in early 2011, President Barack Obama enacted the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, which is the first major update to the nation’s food safety law in more than 70 years. The legislation carries with it a number of provisions that will improve the safety of produce and imports, as well as processed foods.
But despite broad, bipartisan support for the FDA food safety law, as well the backing of consumer groups and industry, the White House has needlessly delayed important regulations to implement the primary sections of the law. Until these measures are put in place, food companies will be left without direction on how to improve the safety of their products, and people will continue to be put needlessly at risk.
However, the rules are not the only roadblock to making food safety a reality. It is also still unclear whether sufficient funding will be available for the FDA to do its job and implement these rules once they are finalized. Congress is currently considering appropriations bills that will fund FDA’s new food safety responsibilities.
As we enter the summer months -- the peak time for foodborne illness outbreaks -- all of our families could be in danger unless the White House and Congress act. Hopefully, with the right safeguards in place, you and your loved ones will never have to experience the devastating consequences of foodborne illness, as my family did."
''The Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill on Thursday that could significantly delay implementation of sweeping new food safety legislation designed to reduce food-borne illnesses.''
More infoIn January 2011, President Barack Obama signed the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) into law, signaling the first major update to our nation’s food safety oversight framework since the Great Depression. Despite widespread support for the legislation and its implementation, the Obama administration still has not issued all of the proposed rules under FSMA.
More infoThe Pew Charitable Trusts applauds Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) for her efforts to strengthen food safety protections under the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, and provide grant funding to help school cafeterias across the nation upgrade their equipment to serve healthy, appealing meals to millions of school children. Funding for both programs was included in a larger bill approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday.
More info"Being a Minnesotan, Jeff Almer searched for a polite term to describe how he feels about a congressional push to roll back the new food safety laws his family fought for when his elderly mother died after eating salmonella-laced peanut butter in late 2008."
More infoThe Pew Charitable Trusts commends Representative Tom Latham (R-IA) for his leadership in securing approximately $27 million for food safety in the House appropriations bill funding the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA. The new money would help the FDA protect millions of Americans from the dangers of foodborne illnesses and strengthen consumer confidence in the food supply.
More infoAs a pediatrician, my No. 1 concern is to keep children safe and healthy. Inside the walls of my office, I can provide services and counseling to help do just that, whether by giving an infant her first childhood vaccine, providing a mental health screening to an adolescent patient or counseling parents about how to keep their homes as safe as possible. Unfortunately, there are some threats to children's health that are beyond my control, including the food they consume.
More infoCDC Data Show Alarmingly High Rate of Listeria Infections for Expectant MomsFrom 2004 2009, 29 percent of cases during pregnancy ended in miscarriage, stillbirth or neonatal death Data collected by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Foodborne
More infoDuring a 15-year span beginning in the mid-1990s, infections in the United States from the pathogen vibrio have increased threefold, according to data published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC.
More info"The Food and Drug Administration will not reduce food inspections because of budget cuts, despite warning earlier that it could be forced to eliminate thousands of inspections by Sept. 30."
More info"Twenty-two weeks. That’s how long it took federal health officials to determine the contaminated food source after the first person was infected in a 2011 outbreak of salmonella that swept across 34 states, sickened 136 people and led to one of the largest national recalls of ground turkey."
More infoA multistate outbreak of Salmonella Heidelberg infections linked to ground turkey in 2011 sickened 136 people, causing 37 hospitalizations and one death. The Pew Charitable Trusts' analysis of the outbreak found numerous inadequacies in the foodborne illness surveillance system that, if addressed, could help to prevent illnesses and, in some cases, deaths.
More infoAn examination of a Salmonella Heidelberg outbreak linked to ground turkey illustrates that health authorities must be more aggressive in their efforts to detect and respond to foodborne illnesses, according to a new report by The Pew Charitable Trusts, titled “Too Slow: An Analysis of the 2011 Salmonella Ground Turkey Outbreak and Recommendations for Improving Detection and Response.” In all, the contaminated food sickened a reported 136 people in the United States, hospitalized 37 and killed one, according to government data.
More info"Six years ago, Bend resident Chrissy Christoferson's ten-month-old son suffered a ten-day struggle with what first appeared to be a touch of the flu."
More info"Portlander Joe Day tearfully recalled the year his family spent Thanksgiving in a hospital cafeteria, as his sister, suffering from e coli, fought for her life several floors above."
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