Safe Food_ Bacteria, Biotechnology, and Bioterrorism - Marion Nestle [163]
ENSURING SAFE FOOD
I argue in this book that food safety is a political problem inextricably linked to matters of commerce, trade, and international relations. Ensuring food safety requires much more than following safe handling practices: it requires political action. We have seen how food companies often place commercial interests above those of consumer protection, and how government agencies often support business interests over those of public health. Today, the threat of food bioterrorism—the ultimate dread factor—reveals the importance of closing the long-standing gaps in oversight of food safety.
As consumers, we want to know that our government cares that the food we eat and the water we drink are safe (or safe enough). Given the topics discussed in this book, the FDA is less than reassuring when it tells us, “Consumers are final judges of the safety of the food they buy. . . . If there is any doubt about its safety, don’t eat it.”60 Surely, we would feel better if we knew that food companies were doing everything possible to minimize food hazards, and that the government was looking out for our interests and making sure food companies were doing what they were supposed to. In the absence of such reassurance, we lose trust. In the absence of trust, we are most frightened by food hazards that we cannot control: genetically modified foods, mad cow disease, and food bioterrorism, for example.
If food safety is a matter of politics, what kinds of political actions are necessary to ensure safe food and restore trust in our food supply? Table 15 summarizes a few actions that we might demand of the food industry, our government, and ourselves. We can begin with the food industry: What is reasonable for us to expect from companies that produce, prepare, and distribute our food? Like any other industry, the goals of the food industry are to maximize income by reducing costs and eliminating inconvenient regulatory intervention. It is unrealistic to trust food companies to keep the interests of consumers paramount, and we have seen that they are unlikely to pay much attention to consumer concerns unless forced to by government, public protest, or fear of poor public relations. If food companies want consumers to trust them, they must earn that trust by following the rules, disclosing production practices as well as nutrient contents, taking responsibility for lapses in safety, and telling the truth about matters of public interest. We would be more likely to trust the motives of food companies if they embraced Pathogen Reduction: HACCP, incorporated environmental protection into every stage of production and distribution, argued in international forums for stronger food safety and environmental standards, and worked with—not against—domestic and international regulatory policies.
TABLE 15. Suggestions for political actions to ensure safe food and improve trust in the food supply
The Food Industry
Accept responsibility for producing safe food.
Develop and follow Pathogen Reduction: HACCP plans at all stages of production, distribution, and service.
Disclose production processes on food labels.
Protect the environment at all stages of production and use.
Adhere to federal regulations for food production, distribution, and service.
Eliminate indiscriminate use of antibiotics in animal agriculture.
Promote high standards for food safety and environmental protection in international trade.
The Federal Government
Create a single food agency.
Institute mechanisms to include the views of consumers when making regulatory decisions.
Provide greater resources for food safety functions of regulatory agencies.
Move congressional funding authority