Pathogen Crackdown Probable (Peppers and Peanuts and Pistachios—Oh My!)

A recent 10-state report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report says progress in foodborne illness prevention has reached a plateau and that Salmonella continues to show least improvement over the past three years. The report says foodborne pathogens—Campylobacter, Cryptosporidium, Listeria, Escherichia coli O157, Salmonella, Shigella, Vibrio, and Yersinia—did not change significantly during this time frame, vs. significant declines in the incidence of some foodborne infections before 2004.

“This year’s report confirms a very important concern, especially with two high-profile Salmonella outbreaks in the last year,’’ said Robert Tauxe, M.D., M.P.H, deputy director of CDC’s Division of Foodborne, Bacterial and Mycotic Diseases, referring to last summer’s Mexican produce contamination and last winter’s peanut debacle. “We recognize that we have reached a plateau in the prevention of foodborne disease and there must be new efforts to develop and evaluate food safety practices from the farm to the table. The foodborne division at CDC is planning to increase the capacity of several health departments so that outbreaks can be better detected and investigated.”

Add that together with the lightening-quick response over the latest Salmonella scare in pistachios, and you can expect some changes in how the government deals with food safety.

While there’s talk of upping FDA inspections, going from 0% to 0.00001%, or whatever is practical, is probably not going to make a big dent in the foodborne-illness numbers. However, the threat of more enforcement and the specter of costly recalls that damage not just the bottom line, but the reputation of entire segments of the industry, just might.

   —Lynn A. Kuntz