Recalls and food safety Russell Lilly Department of Health and Senior services What we will discuss Relative risk and risk / benefit analysis All about.
Download ReportTranscript Recalls and food safety Russell Lilly Department of Health and Senior services What we will discuss Relative risk and risk / benefit analysis All about.
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 Cancer Stroke Accidents 654,000 550,000 150,000 109,000 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 2001-21 2002-29 2003-16 2004-19 2005-20 2006-7 YTD 2007-7 Notable food outbreaks/recalls Milk 1986 – Ice Cream 1994 – 16,000 cases of salmonella 224,000 cases of salmonella Cereal 1998 – 200 cases of salmonella Notable food outbreaks/recalls Hamburger 1997 – Spinach 2006 – 20 cases of E-coli 25,000,000 pounds recalled 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 FDA HACCP, Risk based inspections, safe handling instructions, Salmonella enteritidis risk assessment 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 – Take recalls seriously – Know about recalls 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