Food Safety Groups to USDA: Egg Recall Is Your Fault

Food Safety Groups began slamming the USDA for lax practices resulting in the recall of millions of eggs. Many have wondered how a plant could have USDA inspectors on hand- some at least 40 hours a week- and still missed reported issues such as rats and manure piles near the hen houses.

USA Today offers some insight into the discrepancies and why groups are so angry:

Though USDA regulations say buildings and "outside premises" must be free of conditions that harbor vermin, the agency takes a narrow view of its responsibilities. Under the USDA's unwritten interpretation of the regulations, egg graders only look for vermin inside the specific processing building where they are based, said Dean Kastner, an assistant USDA branch chief in poultry grading program.

The agency interprets outside premises as only the area immediately around the processing building's loading dock and trash receptacle, he said.

PBS has their latest report on the issue in this video:

Egg Recall Continues To Worry Consumers

Health on Today has an article on how worried comsumers are turning to local farmers market to escape the 550 million egg recall that is continuing to grow across the US:

"People are realizing that it’s not the safest decision to buy eggs shipped from huge factory farms in the Midwest, where traceability and accountability is limited,” she said. “At the farmers’ market, you can shake the hand of the farmer who collected your egg that morning and I think that is much more reassuring.”

They also have an interview with FDA Commissioner Dr. Margaret Hamburg in which she comments on the scope of the recall. From the transcript:

Well, it is the largest egg recall that we've had in recent history. We're continuing to investigate aggressively to determine the exact source of the contamination as we move forward with the recall. We may see some addition al recalls over the next couple days, even weeks, as we better understand the network of distribution of these eggs contaminated.

You can watch CBS's latest report on the recall here.

Egg Recall Expands

Today the list of brands on the egg recall expanded. The recall has now grown from 228 eggs to 380 million eggs. While consumers are on the watch for the potentially contaminated brands, CBS News was warning against ordering foods made with raw eggs from restaurants:

Raw egg can be found in sauces and condiments, including Hollandaise sauce and Caesar salad dressing, as well as eggnog, milkshakes and smoothies. Raw egg can also lurk in homemade mayo and ice cream.

Dave Kirby from The Huffington Post has a strong opinion on the egg recall. His artcile is named, "Lessons from the Recall: Cheap Food Makes You Sick."

What good is a 13-cent egg if it's going to get you hospitalized? And why isn't the federal government doing more to encourage and even subsidize the production of humanely-raised and less pathogenic eggs?

Instead, we are told we will have to learn to live with it. The FDA says to cook all eggs thoroughly, but I like my yolks runny and my omelets soft, thank you very much. And the FDA is also recommending that food service providers offer only pasteurized eggs and "egg products" (scrambled eggs in a box) at their establishments.

But seriously: Have we really come to the point where we must disinfect our eggs before we consume them? Wouldn't it be better to focus on producing affordable eggs that won't kill you in the first place?

Do you agree with Mr. Kirby's stance on the recall? Let us know!

Further Reading:

USA Today has a Q&A about the recall.

FDA to Meat Producers: Limit Antibiotics in Animals

With so many high profile food recalls in recent history, it was somewhat uprising to read that the FDA has just issued some new guidelines to the food industry actually asking them to scale down on giving antibiotics to animals.

The reason? After 50 years of continued usage, the FDA believes that the overuse of antibiotics is making the bacteria resistant, thus creating multi-drug resistant pathogens. The FDA does not have an issue with routine doses of antibiotics, but believes that frequently administering them to cause animals to eat more and gain more weight (a side effect of the medicine) is creating a problem.

How is the food industry reacting to the "suggestions" this morning? Not well. The National Pork Council issued a strong statement:

The guidance, which does not have the force of law but may be treated as such by FDA, is a move to address an increase in antibiotic-resistant illnesses in humans, which opponents of modern animal agriculture blame on the use of antibiotics in livestock and poultry production. But top scientists with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health recently told a U.S. House committee that there is no scientific study linking antibiotic use in food animal production with antibiotic resistance.

Some scientists, however, are angry at the FDA for not going far enough. The LA times has more:

Margaret Mellon of the Union of Concerned Scientists called that assertion "patently untrue. There is a mountain of studies linking the use of antibiotics in animals to the evolution of resistant pathogens that cause human disease."

Mellon chided the FDA for moving tentatively, with recommendations rather than with actions to cut down on the use of antibiotics.

"I was expecting an action plan. I was disappointed that all we have here are principles," Mellon said. "They're apparently expecting voluntary action. It's my belief that the industry's not going to act until it has to."

You can read the entire FDA statement here.

Further Reading:

WebMD's article on the new guidelines.
CNN coverage

Tighter Food Security Standards Coming Soon

Recalls and public worry about food safety has prompted the Obama administration to strive for tougher standards and better enforcement in the industry. The Wall Street Journal has more:

A cabinet level panel convened by the White House will announce this afternoon a series of steps aimed at reducing outbreaks of salmonella, E.coli and other pathogens, according to a summary of the panel's report. The panel's recommendations represent a shift in food regulation to prevention from reacting to outbreaks of food-borne illnesses.

The new approach includes a rule aimed at reducing salmonella contamination of raw or undercooked shell eggs during production, a step the panel said will cut the number of human infections caused by egg consumption by 60%, or 79,000 illnesses.

You can read more about the announcement at Whitehouse.gov, and the new government food safety website, The President's Food Safety Work Group.

Consumers are Questioning Food Safety

Cartoon: Walt Handelsman: Newsday

According to a new IBM study, only 20% of the country believes that their food is safe. The study reveals that the majority of consumers no longer feel that the food industry is no longer developing or selling food products that are safe of healthy.

The multiple high-profile recalls over the past few months have also made their impact: 83% of those surveyed said they could name a recalled food. Peanut butter was the most recognizable recalled food with 46%.

Even with the C.O.O.L program in place, 76% wanted more information on the origin of their food. This increased caution and awareness from consumers have lead them to change their buying habits; 63% of the survey participants reported changing their habits to access fresher or higher quality foods- even in the poor economy.

PR Newswire has more:

The survey found that over the past two years, consumer appetite for information about food products increased. 77 percent of consumers want more information about the content of the food products they purchase, and 76 percent would like more information about its origin. 74 percent are willing to dig deeper and seek more data about how the food products are grown, processed and manufactured. Despite industry efforts to keep consumers informed with more detailed product information, there's still a significant gap between consumer expectations and what retailers/manufacturers are providing.

What is changing in food safety to keep up with these demands? The LA Times has an article detailing and criticizing the just-cleared-for-a-senate-vote Food Safety Enhancement Act:

The objective of safeguarding consumers would be more effectively met if the bill didn't perpetuate the existing system of splitting oversight among multiple agencies. Most notably, the Department of Agriculture -- which receives 80% of the food safety funding, although it's responsible for just 20% of the nation's food -- would continue to oversee meat and eggs. Combining the missions under one agency would make better organizational sense and provide more flexibility for spending regulatory dollars where they are most needed.

You can read more about the act at the Examiner.com.

Further Reading

More on the IBM survey via Media Post
Food Safety for Warehousing via Authorstream
Food Distributors and Safety via DMA Online
A review on the new movie Food, INC, via the NY Times