Title : Food Safety In The 21st Century
link : Food Safety In The 21st Century
Food Safety In The 21st Century
I t sounds like a story right out of science fiction: A microscopic murderer that the food supply is turned off, paralyzes exports of a country, leaving dozens dead and thousands more ill. Such an event would seem unthinkable in the modern world of advanced agriculture and medical practice. But unfortunately not the case several months ago following an outbreak in Germany caused by a mortal, rare strain of E. coli bacteria that sickened more than 4,000 people and killed more than 50. the strain whose genome was recently sequenced by scientists at the University of Maryland, is particularly virulent, which carries a combination of both Shiga toxin (which causes severe gastrointestinal disease such as vomiting blood, diarrhea, and sometimes , renal failure) and a unique ability to adhere to the intestinal wall. Bacteria - part of serotype 0104 :. H4 - is therefore one of the lines deadly E. coli rarest existing [1]
Over the past five years, from fright E. coli in spinach from California to the recent outbreak of salmonella in ground turkey, serious illness and sometimes death caused by contaminated food have occurred more frequently than expected. Since 2006, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have issued 39 notices of events foodborne illness in several states. [2]
It is estimated that 48 million people are infected with foodborne in the United States each year disease [3] , resulting in $ 152 million in annual medical costs. [4] And these outbreaks show no signs of abating; the incidence of salmonella infections has increased only 20 percent since 1997. [5] With 170 food-exporting countries of the US, and more than 70,000 violations food safety in food imported into America reported from 1998 to 2004 alone, the E. coli outbreak in Germany - with new cases reported in France and the US -. sheds light on why the issue of food safety is a global concern [6]
According to the World Bank, more two-thirds of countries worldwide are net importers (ie, imports exceed exports food). [7] The devastating outbreak of E. coli European began in Germany in May illustrates the interconnectedness of the global food supply. From the beginning, the incident E. coli creates an international chain reaction: Confusion from the beginning in investigating the source of the outbreak caused erroneous warnings on Spanish cucumbers, tomatoes and green leafy vegetables as the source of infection. [8] As a result, Russia suspended food imports from all member countries of the European Union. [9]
However, after an investigation, public health officials of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) now believe that the source of infection be sprout (sprout a category that includes fenugreek, lentils and beans) imported from Egypt and bought by a German company. [10] Infected seeds are then sold to Britain, which in turn sold them in France, where reports of infections of the same strain of E. coli as that found in Germany arose ago one month. [11] The outbreak even in the United States, with six confirmed cases of infected Americans German strain. [12] According to the European Food Safety Authority, Egyptian seeds - more than 11 tons in total - were shipped worldwide, bought by 54 companies in Germany and distributed between at least one dozen other European countries. [13] Researchers are working to locate the remaining shipments of Egyptian seeds to prevent further outbreaks of the disease.
This incident highlights the fact that agriculture in the 21st century involves industrial-sized farms and businesses reap their products from all corners of the earth, and selling them worldwide, across national borders. This makes the issue of the safety of food much more complex. The good news is that many serious outbreaks of foodborne illnesses are preventable; an agency of efficient and effective food security monitoring farms and factories, maintains a team of epidemiological response and effective emergency, and provides up to date, accurate information to the public in the face of an outbreak can go a long way in reducing the spread of disease and related costs. Unfortunately, this type of agency is the exception rather than the rule, even in the United States.
Until recently, the mission of the food security of the Food and Drug Administration US . (FDA) focused on the response rather than prevention. The FDA had little authority to inspect food production at all levels of the supply chain, issue guidelines for proper cultivation of products (thereby reducing outbreaks in origin) or verify that food imports came from reliable producers . The agency could only suggest that they can get infected food - had no power to require companies to remove their products, although there were found to be carriers of disease. [14] And for three years the FDA has requested additional funds to increase inspections of foreign food, claiming that the agency does not have the resources to meet demand. [15]
Furthermore, the creation of a continuous system of food safety programs is hampered by the functions of division between the FDA and the Department of Agriculture USA (USDA). The Department of Agriculture of the US, which is responsible for the inspection of meat, eggs and poultry under the Inspection Service and Food Safety (FSIS), has had its own problems implementation of food safety procedures. Adoption of rules for the inspection of six strains of E. coli found in beef - known as the "Big Six" - have stalled in the White House Office of Management and Budget, leaving some experts wondering whether the industry of US beef it is vulnerable to outbreaks of E. coli. Consequently, a number of companies have begun to ground beef for E. coli testing in their plants. This is possible because the tests created and used by the USDA recently have become commercially available. Scientists are working to develop a new kit that would test for the strain of E. coli also German. [16]
The FDA does not have procedures to test regularly for the Big Six E. coli strains, either, which can also be found in the products. [17] The problem is compounded by the fact that the USDA and the FDA often overlap in their functions. For example, although the USDA's mission is limited to the inspection of meat, poultry and eggs, with the FDA regulates all other food and drugs in the US, a simple pepperoni pizza frozen fall under the jurisdiction of both organisms. As a result, nearly 1,500 food establishments are inspected by both the USDA and the FDA. The overlap creates inefficiencies in the system and could delay responses in the event of a serious outbreak of foodborne illness. [18]
Fortunately, it takes a step forward in solving problems that threaten life on prevention and response in Latin food safety were taken this year with the approval of the Law on food safety Modernization (FSMA) in January 2011. the legislation, the first serious reform for food security of the United States since 1938, brings food safety authorities of the FDA in the 21 century [19] with new powers to the agency to require controls based on prevention through food supply; standardize inspections for food producers; mandate food recalls in the event of an outbreak; and improve coordination between the FDA and other government agencies, including the Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the CDC. [20]
The FSMA also addresses the international component of food security: Under the FSMA, FDA is given the authority to require importers to verify quality standards of its suppliers, to refuse admission to imported food if the foreign facility refuses to allow an inspection of the FDA to require certification that imported food is in compliance with food safety requirements. The legislation also requires more frequent inspections of foreign food suppliers with increased inspection fees each year after the FSMA is implemented. [21]
In addition, the FSMA aims to harmonize some of the shared responsibilities between the FDA and the USDA. The legislation requires enhanced coordination between the two agencies in the categories of vulnerability assessment of food, coordinating councils in the private sector for agriculture and food defense, laboratory networks and data exchange, and decontamination and disposal regulations. Although the legislation does not change the jurisdiction of any of the agencies, it is required that the USDA and FDA, along with other agencies of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) US collaborate a national Agriculture and Food Defense Strategy. [22] The FSMA is a very necessary step forward in protecting Americans from foodborne diseases and, hopefully, reducing the costs of outbreaks in terms of lost productivity and economic impact .
But now the FSMA faces a whole new obstacle: the movement in Washington to tighten the reins in federal spending. This year, the US House of Representatives voted to cut the 2012 budget by the FDA $ 87 million - ie $ 87 million less than the FDA received last year and $ 226 million below what is needed to enact FSMA. [23] The house also proposed cuts to the USDA Food Safety Inspection, which is responsible for the inspection of meat, poultry and eggs. [24] The proposed cuts mean that the FDA will have difficulty keeping up with their inspections and maintain a system of coordinated and rapid response in the event of an outbreak. It also reduces the likelihood that the FDA will have the resources to establish the new system FSMA to inspect imported food. That means that foreign suppliers may not have to meet the same food safety standards as do domestic farmers. [25]
The FDA is not the only agency involved in food security to address budget reductions this year. The House of Representatives has also proposed cuts to the USDA Food Safety Inspection, which is responsible for the inspection of meat, poultry and eggs. [26] In addition, all funds were cut for the national program for control of foodborne pathogens monitored by the USDA, known as the Program microbiological data. This program is considered by many public health officials as one of the first lines of defense against foodborne in the US illnesses, because the screens of fruits and vegetables for common pathogens like salmonella and E. coli . [27] Program microbiological data is projected regularly produce about 15,000 samples a year for the last ten years, compared with the 1,000 point-controlled samples annually by the FDA. In the past two years, the projections of the program have resulted in 19 product recalls. [28]
The impending budget cuts have led to a warning from the FDA. Recently, the agency issued a special report entitled Road to World Security and Product Quality. The document stresses that the current food security infrastructure is simply unable to withstand the necessary inspections to keep contaminated food from entering the US market .. This is due in part to the fact that imports of food and drugs the United States has increased sixfold in the last ten years. Almost 80 percent of the ingredients of the medication, 75 percent of seafood and 60 percent of fruits and vegetables consumed in the United States come from other countries. And although FSMA take these statistics into account - which requires the FDA to inspect at least 600 foreign food suppliers in the course of a year - the report says the task will be impossible to implement without additional funds. [29]
The FDA report also emphasizes that foodborne illnesses result in 325,000 hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths annually in the United States alone transmitted. [30] A recent nationwide outbreak of Salmonella disease (resulting in the removal of 36 million pounds of ground turkey produced in a meat plant Arkansas) underscores the severity of the poisoning food as a threat to public health in the United States.
greater attention to reducing food-related infections could save lives and help reduce the costs of health care as well. The report highlights that today's world of agricultural practices in a global supply chain of food requires a modern system of food safety inspection. Modernization Act Food Safety Authority (FSMA) is a long-awaited step in improving food security system of our country. The recent outbreak of E. coli in Europe, the high incidence of foodborne in the US as evidenced by the recent outbreak of Salmonella and highlight the FDA report diseases that adequate resources are urgently needed to fully implement the FSMA, and why food security should be a national priority in the United States and around the world
Author:. Susan Blumenthal
for more information, visit foodsafety.gov .
[1] http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1106920#t=article
[2] http://www.cdc.gov/outbreaknet/outbreaks.html
[3] http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-01-04/food-safety-funding-battle-looms-as-obama-prepares-to-sign-reform-bill.html
[4] http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2010-03-03-food-borne-illness_N.htm
[5] http: // dpc .senate.gov / docs / fs-111-2-55.html
[6] http://dpc.senate.gov/docs/fs-111-2-55 .html
[7] http://www.google.com/url?
[8] http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/64d387da-912e-11e0-9668-00144feab49a.html#axzz1P6QnmIE4
[9] http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2811%2960846-5/fulltext?rss=yes#
[10] http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2011/07/naming-names-in-eu-e-coli-outbreak-fair-game/
[11] http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/27/world/europe/27ecoli.html?scp=2&sq=e.%20coli&st=cse
[12] http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5irpE8YEZQLrnnhmdwxTN-VWlZuqg?docId=41ebabe49fe243e1a4331b5ccd2ac0b0
[13] http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/06/business/06seeds.html?_r=1&hpw
[14] http: //www.fda .gov / Food / FoodSafety / FSMA / ucm247559.htm
[15] http://health.usnews.com/usnews/health/healthday/080115/us-food-safety-the-import-alarm-keeps-sounding.htm
[16] http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/16/business/food-companies-act-to-protect-consumers-from-e-coli-illness.html
[17] http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/05/opinion/05Benedict.html
[18] http://www.gao.gov/products / GAO-05-213
[19] http://www.usatoday.com/yourlife/food/safety/2010-12-03-foodsafetyQA03_ST_N.htm
[20] http://www.fda.gov/Food/FoodSafety/FSMA/ucm247559.htm#records1
[21] http: / /www.fda.gov/Food/FoodSafety/FSMA/ucm237934.htm
[22] http://dpc.senate.gov/docs/lb-111-2-57 .html
[23] http://ecocentric.blogs.time.com/2011/06/02/as-europe-reels-from-e-coli-problems-with-food-safety-in-the-u-s/
[24] http://ecocentric.blogs.time.com/2011/06/02/as-europe-reels-from-e-coli-problems-with-food-safety-in-the-u-s/
[25] http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/food-safety-advocates-decry-fda-cuts/2011/05/27/AGzY7yEH_story.html
[26] http://ecocentric.blogs.time.com/2011/06/02/as-europe-reels-from-e-coli-problems-with-food-safety-in-the-u-s/
[27] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/05/microbiological-data-program-e-coli-screening_n_890165.html
[28] http://www.latimes.com/health/ct-met-pathogen-program-20110704,0,2683563.story
[29] http: // www .nytimes.com / 2011/06/21 / health / policy / 21food.html? scp = 2 & sq = fda & st = cse
[30] http://dpc.senate.gov/docs/fs-111-2-55.html
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