Better tracking needed to find sources of foodborne illnesses

Following a summer in which almost 1,500 people in 43 states were sickened in a foodborne illness outbreak that implicated first tomatoes and then peppers, it was with great interest that we read a report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) that analyzed how Canada, Japan and countries in the EU ensure the safety of food imports and respond to foodborne illness.

The GAO found that the countries they examined used a more comprehensive approach to guarantee the safety of imported food. In brief, the entire process of importing food is monitored from "farm to table." The food safety laws in these countries cover every step of the production process, from how it was grown or raised to how the food was processed to when it lands on the consumer's table. The GAO report noted that, as a result, residents of the countries it studied had more confidence in their food safety systems.

According to the GAO's study, the countries reported that three elements of their food-safety systems were critical to helping them respond to outbreaks of foodborne illness:

1. Traceback procedures that allow industry and government officials to quickly track food products to minimize harm to consumers and the impact on business.
2. Cooperative arrangements between government veterinarians and public health officials to document the names of suppliers and customers as well as the date of delivery.
3. Mandatory authority to recall a product from the market.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is responsible for ensuring the safety of roughly 80 percent of the U.S. food supply, including $417 billion worth of domestic food and $49 billion in imported food annually so it's important that the agency beefs up its food-safety oversight.

Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports, believes that the U.S. should adopt specific food-safety guidelines from the EU model. For example, the U.S. inspects only two percent of its seafood, whereas the EU examines 20 to 50 percent of all seafood imported, according to Jean Halloran, CU's director of food-policy initiatives. She said that efforts in the U.S.  to inspect imported food are inadequate.

While there is no simple solution to food safety, CU recommends that the government pass food-safety legislation with the following provisions:

• Traceability system for high-risk produce and production and handling standards.
• Sufficient funding so the FDA can do its job and fulfill its safety mission. Since 2004 the agency has lost nearly a third of its food safety and field staffers, and many more are expected to retire soon.
• More inspections of food imports. Currently less than one percent of food is inspected by the FDA, that's clearly not enough.
• Regular, mandatory FDA inspection of all food production facilities, both foreign and domestic.  Mandatory certification by independent certifiers that processing facilities are following FDA-approved safe handling procedures.
• Labeling of new and controversial food technologies on our shelves, such as cloned food, genetically engineered food and nanotech ingredients. Consumers should be allowed to make informed choices when they're buying food for their families.
• Mandatory recall authority for FDA and mandatory identification of outlets that sell recalled food. There is no federal requirement to publicize the names of grocery stores, restaurants, and schools that might be selling or using recalled food, leaving consumers at a loss to protect themselves.