Should we worry about food poisonings?
The majority of Americans may not have much of any doubt that leafy greens, eggs, and tuna are most healthy and nutritious foods they can eat. According to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, however, these foods are actually on the top of a list of the 10 riskiest foods in terms of foodborne poisonings.
According to the CSPI, more than 1,500 separate, definable outbreaks causing 50,000 reported cases of illness were associated with these tasty and probably most popular foods in the U.S. Because most cases of illness were not reported, these outbreaks are only the tip of a large hulking iceberg, the CSPI says.
Eggs were linked to 352 outbreaks and 11,163 illnesses, tuna to 268 outbreaks and 2,341 cases of illness, and oysters to 132 outbreaks causing 3,409 illnesses, the organization says. Iceberg lettuce, romaine, spinach and other leafy green vegetables were associated with 363 outbreaks of E. coli, Norovirus, or salmonella causing 13,568 cases of illness.
The ten riskiest foods are cited below:
LEAFY GREENS: 363 outbreaks involving 13,568 reported cases of illness
EGGS: 352 outbreaks involving 11,163 reported cases of illness
TUNA: 268 outbreaks involving 2341 reported cases of illness
OYSTERS: 132 outbreaks involving 3409 reported cases of illness
POTATOES: 108 outbreaks involving 3659 reported cases of illness
CHEESE: 83 outbreaks involving 2761 reported cases of illness
ICE CREAM: 74 outbreaks involving 2594 reported cases of illness
TOMATOES: 31 outbreaks involving 3292 reported cases of illness
SPROUTS: 31 outbreaks involving 2022 reported cases of illness
BERRIES: 25 outbreaks involving 3397 reported cases of illness
The CSPI says in a statement that the data do not mean to scare food consumers away from eating these foods. Instead because they are important for most people in the US, it says that the US Senate should follow the House and pass legislation that reforms the obsolete food safety laws.
Food poisonings rarely resulted in deaths. Compared to other risks of death such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancer, or even highway traffic, the number of deaths caused by foodborne illness is close to nothing. This is one of the reasons that consumers should learn to tolerate certain degree of risk from their foods because the nutrition values are far greater than the little risk of some inconvenience.
When consumers or consumer advocates push food producers and manufacturers to require them to completely eliminate the food poisoning risk, the foods will contain little nutrition and lots of risks which will result in diseases and premature deaths than the sporadic food poisonings which are relatively harmless.
A cancer-causing agent has been approved to sterilize almond. X-ray has also been approved to use to kill bacterias in meat products. Technologies are readily available to meet new challenges for food safety. The ultimate sacrifice will come from the consumers.
By David Liu davidl at foodconsumer dot org
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Obesity & Magic Pill :
I personally recognize that wheat is a far better diet than meat on the ground it normally exits body with ease and rapidity, and we are well aware that our heath depends upon smooth metabolism and blood stream associated with the immune system and how important our daily workout is, as well.
I still think the critical conditions mostly come from breach of our immune system, and the food that stays long in the body is more likely to become a source where germs, bacterias, viruses and the like multiply.
Sounds outlandish, but wheat might be a principal "clean and healthy" food that has led western society to the most decent culture of all.
Disadvantages of meat consumption :
1. The food that stays long in the body looks more likely to become a source where germs, bacterias and the like multiply, which even gives birth to critical conditions involving prostate cancer.
2. The consumption of meat proved lethal as earlier this year, the expansive, long-term release concluded about a third of more than 500,000 Americans aged 50-70 with this behavior tends to wind up with premature fatality caused by cancer, hypertension and more.
3. The in-take of pork raises risks of catching swine flue and its mutation, costing around the initially estimated $2trillion dollars word-wide and endangering recovery,
(( Genes included in the new swine flu have been circulating undetected in pigs for at least a decade, according to researchers who have sequenced the genomes of more than 50 samples of the virus. The findings suggest that in the future, pig populations will need to be monitored more closely for emerging influenza viruses, reported a team led by Rebecca Garten of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in a report released by the journal Science.))
Still, media downplay this fact out of small thinking to protect meat industry.
4. All but media influenced by meat industry blame calorie for overweight or obesity rather than fat, I still think Fat equals Fat by definition and common sense.
5. Hot dogs are often associated with food-borne illness. Though other food items carry listeria , FDA (Food and Drug Administration) studies have shown a high level of the harmful bacteria on hot dogs, processed meat and ready-to-eat meat products. And consuming hot dogs and other processed meats increases the risk of cancer
The class-action consumer fraud lawsuit underway in New Jersey is based on a report from the American Institute for Cancer Research.
Its findings included this fact: Consuming one 50-gram serving of processed meat (about the amount in one hot dog) every day increases the risk of colorectal cancer, on average, by 21 percent.
Nitrites, used to keep hot dogs fresh, are the main culprit, according to the suit.
While nitrites are commonly found in many green vegetables, especially spinach, celery and green lettuce, the consumption of vegetables appears to be effective in reducing the risk of cancer. Because these vegetables also contain Vitamin C and D, which serve to inhibit the formation of carcinogenic compounds, they actually reduce your cancer risk.
6. Two thirds of Americans are overweight or obese, which branch into so many different kinds of diseases, excess body fat increases risk for numerous cancers, costing up to $147 billion a year.
7. America needs to put focus on a sustainable energy industry to become a lead exporter, in place of a fast food business where the overall loss outstrips gain more than known, from my stance.
Provided the average temperature is getting higher, accordingly all forms of germs, bacterias, viruses, and influenza etc are more likely to multiply.
Some skeptics say the warning against hazards of climate change is overstated, but judging from more frequent and widespread outbreaks of e. coli, salmonella, and bird, swine flu cases endangering human lives and economic recovery seriously, some prompt measures need to be taken, I guess.
Also, Breathing toxic chemicals in the outdoor air exposes all Americans to a lifetime cancer risk at least 10 times greater than the level considered acceptable under federal law, shows new data released by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Thank You !
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