Title: Recalls and food safety
1Recalls and food safety
- Russell Lilly
- Department of Health and Senior services
2What we will discuss
- Relative risk and risk / benefit analysis
- All about food recalls
- What we are doing about it
- Answer some specific questions
3Is it OK to eat fresh veggies?
- Absolutely
- They are good for you
4In the news
- Corporate Agribusiness Is Behind Our Deadly Food
Supply - Amid high-profile food recalls, FDA inspections
languish -
- "We have a food safety crisis on the horizon,"
said Michael Doyle, director of the Center for
Food Safety at the University of Georgia.
5- "Our food safety structure is collapsing and
endangering public health," said Democratic Rep.
Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut,
6How bad is it?
- 76,000,000 illnesses
- 325,000 hospitalizations
- 5,000 deaths
7Some perspective Causes of Death
- Heart Disease 654,000
- Cancer 550,000
- Stroke 150,000
- Accidents 109,000
- Foodborne illness 5,000
- .2
8Our history
9- 1900 Typhoid rate 100/100,000
- 1950 Typhoid rate 1.7/100/000
Ten Great Public Health Achievements -- United
States, 1900-1999
10A bigger threat?
- Bioterrorism and the Food Supply
- By Kevin Coleman , Technolytics October 01,
2004
11Some risk is unavoidable
- Breakdowns and mistakes in processing
- Sometimes where we least expect it
12How much food do we eat?
- 23,000,000,000 pounds of fresh fruit
- 55,250,000,000 pounds of vegetables
- 58,250,000,000 pounds of milk and cream
- 78,000,000,000 pounds of red meat
13How much risk?
- 273,750,000,000 Meals per year
- 76,000,000 illnesses is
- .028
- Or 1 in 3,600 meals cause illness
14Our food supply is safe
- Abundant
- And Cheap
- 11 of disposable income
- 2 billion people will go to bed hungry tonight
15What is a food recall
- When a company voluntarily has its product
removed from distribution because of a problem
16How many food recalls do we have
- Nationwide about 188 per year
- Missouri numbers
- 2000-28 2004-19
- 2001-21 2005-20
- 2002-29 2006-7
- 2003-16 YTD 2007-7
17(No Transcript)
18(No Transcript)
19(No Transcript)
20Notable food outbreaks/recalls
- Milk 1986
- 16,000 cases of salmonella
- Ice Cream 1994
- 224,000 cases of salmonella
- Cereal 1998
- 200 cases of salmonella
21Notable food outbreaks/recalls
- Hamburger 1997
- 20 cases of E-coli 25,000,000 pounds recalled
- Spinach 2006
- 200 cases of E-coli
- 4 last week
- Peanut Butter - Salmonella
- Cantaloupe - Salmonella
- Baby food - Clostridium Botulinum
- Chicken breast strips - Lysteria
22Spinach outbreak
23Is it safe to eat spinach again?
- Unusual outbreak/recall
- Sep 14 FDA warning- do not eat any
- Sep 29 update, warning limited to one parent firm
and four others receiving their product - As soon as it reappeared in the distribution
chain it would have been from safe sources
24What is the government going to do about it?
- A lot
- Food safety staff in Missouri
- USDA dozens to hundreds
- MoAg 10
- FDA 10
- State Health 10
- Local Health 200
25What have we done?
- USDA/MoAg HACCP, Risk based inspections,
safe handling instructions, Salmonella
enteritidis risk assessment - FDA Produce initiative Good agricultural
practices Sprouts sample irrigation
water, Juice/seafood HACCP
26What have we done?
- DHSS/LPHAs Increased capacity, HACCP, Risk
based inspections, 1999 food
code no bare hand contact- ill
employee policies
27HACCP
- A way to look at food safety, focuses on food
process not facility requirements - Looks at what can go wrong and prevents it
- Involves critical limits, corrective actions and
record keeping - I have seen the results first hand
28Do regulations cover transportation?
- Yes, and we have discovered problems
- There have also been problems at the producer,
supermarket, restaurant and in home levels too
29Food Recalls are increasing
- Does that mean
- The system is broken?
- The system is working?
30Why are there more recalls
- We eat more food
- Better surveillance
- We look for more things
- The food industry has changed
- More risk advert companies
31Foodborne illness surveillance
- Our capacity has increased greatly
- Lab detection capabilities
- Computer tracking and matching
- We might have not found the peanut butter 10
years ago
32Number one reason for recalls
- Undeclared allergens
- Not the same as intolerances
- Involve the immune system
- Can be life threatening
- Were largely ignored 30
years ago
33The food industry has changed
- 80 of the nations lettuce comes from the Salinas
Valley in California - Large food processing plants can assemble
ingredients from all over the country and then
distribute finished product just as widely
34With our litigious society
- Companies want to avoid the risk of being sued
- Sometimes they throw away food we would let them
keep after a transportation accident - More likely to recall product
35What we can do
- Be aware
- Know about recalls
- Take recalls seriously
- Dont eat food involved in a recall
- Practice safe food handling practices
- Check temperatures
- Dont cross contaminate
36We want to avoid
37We want to promote
- Confidence
- Vigilance
- Personal responsibility
38Where to get Recall information
- http//www.recalls.gov/food.html
39The risk of not eating
- Far exceeds the risk of eating