foodconsumer.org: Should we worry about food poisonings?

Should we worry about food poisonings?
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admin on 10/07/2009 21:24:00
 
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