Key Ingredient Left Out Of Food Safety Rules

The sign inside my favorite Trader Joe’s announced a recall of raw cashew pieces due to concern over Salmonella. The soup for my dinner party would switch from a cauliflower-cashew to a sweet potato one. Minor inconvenience for me; major one for the food producer and anyone potentially made ill from the contaminant. Salmonella is a nasty pathogen. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) noted that most people infected with the pathogen will develop diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps within 12 to 72 hours. The illness continues for four to seven days. Yet, in some people the infection manifests as reactive arthritis where joint pain may last for months or even years, and in others the contamination moves to the blood stream where untreated Salmonella can become a death sentence. This is not a minor matter. It is estimated by the CDC that 1.2 million people are sickened each year in the United States due to non-typhoidal Salmonella. Approximately 450 people will die as a result. Go back to the same Trader Joe’s or Safeway or Costco or Publix of your choice and find other pathogens of concern. Within weeks of the cashew recall, Listeria monocytogenes was found in certain Dole leafy green products, Shiga toxin-producing E. coli O157:H7 was linked to a certain rotisserie chicken salad, and shell eggs from Good Earth Egg Company were recalled for Salmonella. All of these outbreaks and recalls can impact the health of millions of people and account for millions i...
Source: Health Affairs Blog - Category: Health Management Authors: Tags: Featured Public Health Quality CDC e-coli Food and Health food quality Food Safety Modernization Act Salmonella Source Type: blogs