Testimony by Jennifer Exley
 Jennifer Exley |
My name is Jennifer Exley, and I reside in Centennial, Colorado. I am the daughter of Herbert Stevens, who was deeply impacted by listeria-contaminated cantaloupe in August 2011. As you well know, 147 people were sickened and 33 people died in that outbreak — the deadliest in 25 years. My father was one of the so-called lucky survivors. His health and quality of life was, and remains, seriously affected because of something he ate.
If I had to describe my dad in one word, it would be “survivor.” He was born very prematurely on June 30, 1927, in Springfield, Ohio, and the family physician did not think he would survive. His father made an incubator for him. By his first birthday, he weighed six pounds. Several years ago, he survived an E. coli infection of an undetermined origin.
On Aug. 22, 2011, however, he became seriously ill because of the listeria infection. Two days later, he could not stand up. When my mom called 911, it marked the beginning of my dad’s horrific two-month journey filled with hospital stays and nursing home admissions. He suffered high fevers, disorientation, and even gained 34 pounds of water weight. There were many scary times when we thought he might not survive.
Because my mother could offer him constant supervision at home, my dad was finally and thankfully discharged from the hospital. If not for her and the support of the entire family, my dad would have to be in a nursing home. My mom is no longer a spouse, but a 24/7 caregiver. From the time my dad gets up in the morning to the time he goes to bed at night, my mother makes all of his decisions. She prepares his meals, lays out his clothes, tells him when he needs to bathe, manages his medications, as well as performs daily household chores such as doing the laundry and paying the bills. Although there are rare occasions when my dad is able to enjoy a meal in a restaurant or attend a community event, his time out of the house is typically spent at doctors’ appointments. My mother is physically and mentally exhausted.
To say that we are angry is an understatement. Despite our disbelief that the gross negligence of others could forever impact our family, we are hopeful for change. I am glad to know that the proposed-draft produce rule includes requirements for equipment and tools used in the harvesting and packing of fresh produce such as melons with the aim of limiting the bacteria and pathogens that might contaminate them and the produce that contacts them These requirements were not in place when my father and nearly 150 others were sickened, but if they are finalized quickly, other families will not have to experience what mine has. Once FSMA is fully implemented, then hopefully no other couples like my parents will be forced to celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary in the hospital because of a foodborne illness. The promise of this vitally important piece of legislation must be realized before one more person loses his or her independence or a family member is forced to mourn.
Thank you for listening to my statement.
In 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."
More info''Several hundred farmers, regulators and consumers from Alaska to North Dakota to California gathered in Portland on Wednesday to listen to federal plans to overhaul the food safety system."
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