CDC: U.S. Food Safety Hasn't Improved

(WebMD)  Efforts to improve U.S. food safety have not yet borne fruit, a new CDC report shows.

The CDC's Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network, called FoodNet, began tracking cases of food-borne illnesses in 1996 in 10 U.S. states. The idea is to track infection trends for the 10 most important causes of food poisoning .

The 2007 FoodNet numbers are here. The news isn't awful, but it isn't good either, CDC and FDA officials today acknowledged at a news conference.

"There is not a particularly important change from the last few years," said Robert Tauxe, MD, MPH, deputy director of the CDC's division of food-borne diseases. "A lot of things have been going on to improve food safety, and we think they are likely to bear fruit ... but we cannot say we have made tremendous progress in the last year."

"We have not seen as substantial a decline as we would like to see," said Elisabeth Hagen, MD, executive associate for public health at the USDA's Food Safety Inspection Service.

While there have been significant declines in food-borne illnesses since 1996, there has been no significant improvement since 2004. Compared with 2004-2006, there's been no real decline in cases of food-borne disease caused by campylobacter, listeria, salmonella, shigella, E. coli, vibrio, or yersinia bacteria.

Cases of infection with the waterborne parasite cryptosporidium went up, but Tauxe said that was because of a new treatment for the parasite, spurring more doctors to test patients for the bug.

The year 2007 was also a year in which there were several widespread outbreaks of salmonella infection, including outbreaks from contaminated peanut butter, frozen pot pies, puffed vegetable snacks, and live pet turtles.

In November 2007, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services unveiled a plan to improve food safety. But Tauxe noted that federal efforts are only one part of food safety.

"Food safety is an important problem, one that begins on the farm and continues to the kitchen," he said.

The 2007 FoodNet report appears in the April 11 issue of the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.




By Daniel DeNoon
Reviewed by Brunilda Nazario
©2005-2008 WebMD, LLC. All rights reserved

[frankbowers]

how on earth can anything improve except the rich getting richer under the 1 watt light buld (drugs and alcohol burnt his out a long time ago before he deserter the Texas Air National Guard)of gw bush and the 1/2 watt light bulb of dic cheney leadership they could care less and loook at who the appoint just the ones who agree with what the two of them want and it is not to hurt the ones in control. Frank Bowers

[tucano2]

The safety of USA food will remain compromised so long as there is a single Illegal Alien still working in any restaurant, or in any food distribution company, or in any field picking crops.

[blackwater66-2009]

Their is no food safety no more. The food industry is suppose to police up after themselves, the government cannot inspect every piece of food that comes in from the free trade agreement 3rd world countries, can they ? Country''s gone to H%#$ !! Solution, grow your own food pal or don''t eat it ??

[baileyccc]

When I decide to give up process foods and eat fruits and vegetable a funny thing happen. I lost 40 lbs, my allergies went away and my energy level increase dramatically. I buy organic when I can and I wash everything I buy. The relentless additions of poisons to our food supply should be stop but our FDA bends over to Corporate Pressure.

[rushman71]

Hmmmm, I wonder why? Fast food chains are still focusing on big size value meals. Ask them to cut down on their portions of served orders. Their response: "NEVER!!!!!"