Really Bad Bugs and Food-Safety Concerns

In between all the public shrieking about relatively innocuous health issues like consumption of high-fructose corn syrup or certified colors lurks a real health issue—pathogenic contamination of foods.

Last year, a multistate outbreak of Salmonella enteritidis associated with in-shell eggs resulted in about 2,000 illnesses and hundreds of millions of recalled eggs. In June, the spotlight was on Europe’s struggle with an outbreak of a particularly virulent form of E. coli O104 that has, at last count, killed more than 50, and sickened more than 4,000, causing at least a quarter of those stricken to develop a life-threatening kidney complication known as hemolytic uremic syndrome. After a month-long search, the source of the outbreak has been identified as fenugreek sprout seeds. What makes it worse is, “This is a brand-new strain that attaches in a new way, with a whole new toolkit to persist and infect,” said one British microbiologist. Here in the United States, the CDC estimates that about 48 million people get sick, 128,000 are hospitalized and 3,000 die each year from foodborne diseases. The potential of gaining a few extra pounds or of little Johnny being extra bouncy pales in comparison.

Back in the Stone Age, when I studied food microbiology, botulism was food processors’ main concern. In the ensuing years, we’ve discovered several new organisms of concern, witnessed the evolution of superbugs, like the above-mentioned E. coli, developed a food system that practically ensures widespread inoculation and developed a taste for foods that may be ticking time bombs. (Fresh and natural comes to mind, and raw milk tops my list.) Consumers are woefully ignorant of hygiene, and even if they weren’t, Mother Nature doesn’t make it easy. Pathogens can exceed 10⁷ per gram of sprouts, for example, without adversely affecting product appearance, says the CDC. And only a couple of dozen cells in certain species can sicken us, rendering the 5-second rule microbiologically moot.

FDA’s Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) was enacted to address food-safety problems, strengthening FDA’s powers to better enforce food safety. However, FDA only overlooks about 80% of our food; USDA controls meat, poultry and eggs. Funding is another issue. According to an FDA FAQ, “the inspection schedule in the legislation would increase the burden on FDA’s inspection functions. Without additional funding, FDA will be challenged in implementing the legislation fully without compromising other key functions.” In addition, FSMA exempts small food businesses, a move that makes financial, if not scientific sense. If bacterial pathogens have learned to read a balance sheet before taking up residence, it’s news to me.

Because of the importance of food safety, Food Product Design has prepared a special digital issue that looks at some of the most-important issues facing the industry. In addition to FSMA, we look at things that might kill your customers—one of the top pathogens, and allergies—as well as the future of food safety. And we plan to bring you more in-depth reports as we investigate more issues that are critical to the food industry.

   -Lynn A. Kuntz