In September, consumers were advised not to buy fresh spinach because some of it was contaminated with the potentially deadly bacteria E. coli O157:H7. But it’s not just the salad that can make us sick; it’s the main course as well.

Tests by Consumer Reports show that supermarket chicken has an 8 in 10 chance of harboring campylobacter, salmonella, or both, bacteria that can cause illness and even death if the chicken isn’t handled carefully and cooked thoroughly (see our January 2007 report on Dirty birds). Four years ago, about half the chicken in our tests carried these bacteria. This year’s results are the worst since we began the tests almost a decade ago.

Contaminated beef is also a serious problem. E. coli caused eight recalls involving almost 182,000 pounds of ground beef in the first 10 months of 2006. Even turkeys can make us sick; studies have turned up campylobacter contamination in 14 to 35 percent of samples.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates there are 76 million cases of food-borne illness in the U.S. every year, and 5,000 people die.

Reducing harmful bacteria in food is possible. But it takes diligence in maintaining health standards and sanitation in the raising and processing of animals.

Unfortunately, the responsibility for ensuring food safety is scattered across a dozen federal agencies enforcing a patchwork of laws. The Department of Agriculture regulates meat and poultry, the Food and Drug Administration oversees fish, dairy, and produce, and the Environmental Protection Agency sets standards for pesticide residues.

It’s not just that there are too many agencies; it’s that they lack the authority to make food safe. They can’t recall contaminated meat or produce, for example; they must rely on the good will of the industry to comply if asked.

Some areas aren’t covered by any safety standards. Though campylobacter is now a major bacterial cause of food poisoning in the U.S., there is no limit for its presence in chicken.

Recently, Congress has done more to unravel existing consumer protections than to add to them. In 2006, the House of Representatives passed the National Uniformity for Food Act and sent it to the Senate. It would nullify all state food safety and labeling laws that are not identical to federal ones. That means that some 200 laws, many of which cover products with no federal laws, would be stricken from the books.

Some members of Congress have proposed legislation to address the issue comprehensively. The Safe Food Act would establish a single agency that would require regular inspections and have the power to recall contaminated foods. Consumers Union fully supports one food agency with the regulatory teeth to make us safer.