• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

By Root 1216 0

of budget cuts and deregulation. The president had just appointed Mike Espy, a former Democratic congressman from Mississippi, to be the new USDA Secretary. Mr. Espy soon met with meat inspector whistle-blowers to hear their complaints. In March, in a departure from the policies of previous administrations, President Clinton proposed to overhaul the meat inspection system, promised that modern biological tools would be used to evaluate pathogens in meat, and called for expanded use of irradiation for meat products (an issue discussed in chapter 4).21 A New York Times editorial pointed out that the USDA had long been inclined to “put meat and dairy interests before public health,” had “abdicated its duty to minimize the risk from contaminated products,” and could have avoided the tragic deaths if the department had “stirred itself to contain the bacterial infection problem after a 1982 outbreak disclosed it.” The Times considered the new administration’s proposed policy changes a “refreshing break” in USDA’s “traditional laxity in consumer protection.”22 In a further response to the Jack in the Box outbreak, the FDA recommended an increase in the minimal cooking temperature for ground beef from 140°F to 155°F (later, the FDA raised the recommended temperature to 160°F to provide an extra margin of safety for home cooks). The outbreak also stimulated calls for research to better identify microbial pathogens and find out how they get into the food supply.23

The Jack in the Box outbreak was by no means the first to involve E. coli O157:H7, but it was especially difficult for the public to accept. For one thing, children had died. For another, the source was hamburger—an American food icon. From then on, food companies and USDA officials would have a harder time convincing the public of the usual line of reasoning: nothing can be done about pathogens, they are ubiquitous, and the burden of food safety rests with home cooks. The responsibility of producers, processors, and retailers was now apparent, as was that of the government to make sure they met that responsibility.24 Table 9 summarizes the USDA’s subsequent and ongoing vision of how food safety responsibilities are to be shared. It demonstrates that in 1998 the department still could not require farmers or transporters to institute HACCP plans, nor could it demand performance standards—maximum levels of harmful microbes allowed as verified by testing—for reducing pathogens.15

TABLE 9. Advice from the Department of Agriculture: food safety is everyone’s responsibility

Farm

Pathogens are found to some extent in all farm animals.

Livestock operations should be separated from produce operations.

Clean water should be used to irrigate produce.

Storage/Transport

Keep products cold.

Clean tanks between shipments.

Slaughter/Processing

Apply HACCP preventive systems.

New technologies can reduce the risk of pathogen contamination.

Consumer

Clean: Wash hands and surfaces often.

Separate: Don’t cross-contaminate.

Cook: Cook to proper temperatures.

Chill: Refrigerate promptly.

SOURCE: Crutchfield S. FoodReview 1998;21(3):34–35.

Any assumption that either the industry or the USDA would willingly accept such responsibility was overly optimistic. Marian Burros of the New York Times noted that USDA officials continued to deny two obvious facts: cases of food poisoning were increasing, and the meat industry had something to do with those cases. As she explained, “Blaming the victim takes the onus off the responsible government agency and the meat and poultry industry. There are many ways the industry could lessen the risks of food poisoning, but the Government does not require any of those steps.”25

Instead of taking such steps, industry groups employed damage control. They pointed out that E. coli O157:H7 infections were due to undercooking, not to the meat itself, and that consumers needed better education about food safety. They said the “recent outbreak sheds light on a nationwide problem: inconsistent information about proper cooking temperatures for hamburger.