Food safety for thought
rate of Salmonella in raw meat and poultry has dropped by 66 per
cent over the past six years and by 16 per cent compared with 2002.
She claims that some of the credit should go to the present
government.
"The Bush Administration is committed to protecting the public health and improving our food safety systems," she said. "These results show that we are making progress in our efforts to enhance meat and poultry inspection systems. This is good news for consumers."
However, the administration has been criticised in some quarters for its approach to food production safety. The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) for example has blasted the government for all but abandoning a programme that requires the testing of whole turkeys for Salmonella, as reported yesterday in FoodProductiondaily.com. The organisation has called on Veneman to restore the programme, and to increase the range of the test to include another bacterium, Campylobacter.
"Without government testing, turkey producers have less incentive to control dangerous hazards like Salmonella and Campylobacter, and consumers have less information on which to base their choices," said CSPI food safety director Caroline Smith DeWaal.
Nonetheless, the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) believes that food safety in the US is improving. Of the random samples collected and analysed between 1 January and 31 October 2003 by FSIS, 3.6 per cent tested positive for Salmonella. This compares favourably to past years: 4.29 per cent in 2002; 5.03 per cent in 2001; 5.31 per cent in 2000; 7.26 per cent in 1999; and 10.65 per cent in 1998.
"These figures demonstrate that strong, science based enforcement of food safety rules is driving down the rate of Salmonella," said agriculture undersecretary for food safety Dr Elsa Murano. "These data validate our scientific approach to protecting public health through safer food."
Earlier this year, the US department of agriculture USDA outlined a series of new science-based initiatives to better understand, predict and prevent microbiological contamination of meat and poultry products. These steps include increased training of inspectors, expediting the approval of new technologies, creation of a risk assessment coordination team and conducting research on priority areas.
"It is also important that consumers and food handlers know how to properly cook and handle food," said Veneman. "USDA has a wealth of information available. Especially during this holiday season, consumers can call our Meat and Poultry Hotline visit our website for information."
The USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is the US public health regulatory agency responsible for ensuring that meat, poultry and egg products are safe and accurately labeled. The organisation has more than 8,000 inspection personnel stationed in meat and poultry plants across the nation to ensure compliance with federal laws and regulations. As part of an extensive science-based food safety system, FSIS collects and analyses Salmonella samples in seven categories of raw meat and poultry as one way to verify compliance with food safety requirements.
