Food Safety in America (Research Paper Sample)

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Food Safety in America
America’s food supply is not safe from contamination, and this can be supported by the recent statistics that one in every six individuals in America dies from food contamination each year. In the year 2011 foodborne diseases such as, salmonella had been caused by contamination of turkey, bologna, papayas, hazelnuts, sprouts and cantaloupe. Food safety can be defined as the process of practicing and providing good conditions that are capable of preserving food’s quality and hence preventing contamination and cases of foodborne diseases. All types of food are in a position of being contaminated though others have a higher risk of contamination. Foods with higher contamination risks include raw fish, poultry, dairy products, eggs, raw sprouts and cheese. Such foods have to be stored at low temperatures all the time in order to avoid contamination.
Food safety can be achieved through proper handling of food in the supply chain and ensuring that food reaches the final consumer in a timely manner. Federal agencies in America, who are responsible for food safety through prevention of supply of contaminated food to hotels and grocery outlets, have failed to honor their duties hence putting the lives of millions of people at a risk. Food safety in America now depends on the initiatives of individuals who lack the necessary authority of protecting consumers.
There are many chances of food being contaminated during its production and preparation since we all live in microbial world full foodborne microbes. Majority of foodborne microbes are found in the bodies of animals especially their intestines. This is the reason as to why meat and poultry products can easily be contaminated during slaughtering (Bartos, 8). Vegetables and fresh fruits can also be easily contaminated with these pathogens when they are not handled properly during harvesting. They are contaminated when washed with dirty water mixed with animal feces. Eggs can be infested with salmonella when the eggs ovaries are infested with these bacteria. Seafoods can also be infested with norovirus when sea creatures live in water contaminate with sewage.
Seafoods from Thailand and China poses a great threat to food safety in America. This is due to the reason that food safety standards in these two countries are far much below those of the US. Even with this limitation a majority of food consumed in America still comes from these countries accounting for 80%. The country should hence come up with strict measures of addressing this issue since the lives of many people are being put at a very high risk of contracting food borne diseases. Food is contaminated during food processing when infected people are allowed to handle food or when other contaminated ingredients are introduced in the process. For instance, if an infected person handles food with unwashed hands, he can easily transmit norovirus and hepatitis A virus. People should also avoid sharing knives and chopping boards when cooking so that pathogens are not transferred from one food to another.
The safety of America’s food industry is of much concern after the Al Qaeda terrorist attack and incidents of anthrax in the country. There is a high possibility that the food supply is being contaminated, and this could lead to economic deterioration as well as psychological disorders to people of this country. It is a fact that certain categories of foods are more likely to be contaminated than others but this doesn’t imply that the less susceptible ones cannot be contaminated since food terrorism applies a technique which affects everybody. If the usual 5,000 deaths and 325,000 hospitalizations experienced in the US were happening concurrently with terrorism from Al Qaeda, then there could be a national crisis in the country.
The government should hence ensure that food safety is achieved in America so that it can be able to deal with uncertainties in the future. Policy makers should come up with ways of protecting food safety in the country from terrorism. Protection and planning for food safety should be the priority of food industries and the government at all times. It is not necessarily that the contaminated food can cause an outbreak, but it largely depends on how they are handled.
Contaminated food may be having viral load that can’t cause disease outbreak. However, if they are placed in warm- moist conditions, then favorable conditions for their multiplication is created. Food should at all times be stored under low temperatures so that such cases of pathogenic multiplication can be avoided. This rule, however, does not apply to two groups of foodborne bacteria, Listeria monocytogenes and Yersinia enterocolitica which actually survive under low temperatures (Harris and McDonald, 45). Food can also be preserved using high concentrations of acid, sugar and salt, and this is the reason salted vegetables and meat stay safe for long periods of time. Food pathogens are also destroyed at high temperatures. We should hence make sure that we first cook our food before eating it so as to avoid food poisoning. Clostridium, however doesn’t get destroyed when heated at low temperatures. It should be heated at temperatures beyond boiling point for effective destruction.
Food contamination is also another factor that is threatening food security in America. Poultry meat often sold in grocery stores are contaminated with poultry feces which leads to bacterial infection by Salmonella. This issue has led to reported infection cases of approximately 3 million Americans every year. One in every five chicken sold in grocery stores is infected with salmonella, and this takes place in the slaughter houses. The government should ensure that safety rules, and regulations in slaughter houses are observed in all instances in order to avoid such cases in future. Farms in which such poultry is reared should also be always put on check in order to ensure that they conform to the expected standards.
About 61% of people in America are worried about food supply in the country and majority of them have no confidence in the meat industry claiming that it is full of contamination (Hester, 87). This concern still does not stop them from consuming sixty-three pounds of beef annually per person. The majority of the people worry about meat safety a lot while the others are concerned about seafood. Recently, however research has shown that many people have started showing fear over the contamination of seafood than in the recent past. The number of people killed through food contamination in America has been consistent implying that that much is being done to curb the situation.
The statistics of deaths caused through food contamination annually in the country is estimated to be 5,000. Many people, however, get sick and are hospitalized for eating contaminated food each year. Foodborne diseases are also creating a huge capital budget to the country amounting to more than 150 billion dollars each year. Recently the consumer’s union joined hands together to demand food producers to get rid of tainted foods from their supply to their respective markets.
Federal agencies in America are given the mandate to protect consumers from food poisoning yet many people are poisoned, and thousands have succumbed to the illness. This is happening because these agencies lack proper coordination of activities among themselves so that they can adequately address this issue. Joint efforts are required for the achievement of food safety by these agencies. These agencies include the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the department of agriculture. Food poisoning is creating adverse effects to the economy in terms of human labor and costs to treat the infected individuals. Federal agencies need to work together so that they can effectively address the issue. Without team work government resources and time are going to be wasted with no meaningful outcomes achieved and people’s lives being put at risk.
Key findings and recommendations about food safety in America have been established by researchers. Poultry poisoned by Campylobacter bacteria has been topping the list, and it has sickened approximately six hundred thousand Americans each and every year at a cost of 1.3 billion dollars.
The other concern in poultry is Salmonella, which infects people at an approximate cost of seven hundred million dollars in treating it. The infections caused by these organisms may lead to acute illness and even death. Paralysis neuromuscular complications are caused by campylobacter infection which is a bad infection. It is recommended that safety standards on turkeys and young chicken should be continuously evaluated and tightened in order to stop food contamination by poultry products.
The leading disease causing microorganism in poultry products is salmonella and it accounts for close to three billion dollars cost of infection every year. Poultry produce, such as eggs and food ingredients are among the top ten contaminated substances by salmonella in America. The federal agencies concerned with food safety in America should come up with joint initiatives to control the infestation of food by salmonella. Researchers need to be involved at this stage so that they can give remedies to these bacteria.
Fetuses and pregnant women in America are seriously affected by poisoning in meat, cheeses, beef and pork. These microorganisms cause Listeria and Toxoplasma in these food products. When pregnant women consume these infected products they are at a high risk of experiencing still births. (Hunter and David Tietyen, 5). On the other hand the infants born by these mothers suffer from physical and mental disabilities which are not reversible. Agencies concerned with food safety should t...