Weeks Late

23 July 2008



Google
WWW Kensington Review

FDA Finally Finds Salmonella Source

Back at the beginning of June, the Food and Drug Administration warned Americans against eating certain varieties of tomatoes because of concerns over salmonella poisoning. Around 1,200 people have contracted the disease in 40 states and a few places in Canada (no doubt visitors to the US). Several weeks and $100 million in lost tomato sales later, the FDA has said the tomatoes were OK after all. It was Mexican jalapeño peppers that caused the outbreak. One would be relieved if one were confident the FDA got it right this time.

Lauren Neergaard of the Associated Press reported yesterday, “Government inspectors finally have a big clue in the nationwide salmonella outbreak: They found the same bacteria on a single Mexican-grown jalapeno pepper handled by a small Texas produce shipper. But Monday’s discovery doesn't solve the mystery: Authorities don't know where the pepper became tainted — on the farm, or in the plant in McAllen, Texas, or at some stop in between. Nor are they saying the tainted pepper exonerates tomatoes sold earlier in the spring that consumers until last week had been told were the prime suspect.”

In other words, the FDA knows that there are some bad peppers out there, but it can’t say with any confidence that the other food in the supermarket is edible. Part of the reason is penny-pinching by the government. The FDA’s budget in 2007 was 56% smaller than it was in 2003, and this year, the drop has continued. Budget cuts means fewer inspectors and inspections, which means that more contamination is possible. Worse, the Baltimore Sun said, “From 2001 to 2007, the number of domestic firms under the FDA’s jurisdiction increased from 51,000 to more than 65,500 while the number inspected declined to 14,566.”

The Sun also noted, “Last November, the FDA’s Science Board said the agency lacked the staff, computer systems and funds needed to protect Americans from food-borne infections. The agency offered a plan promising to significantly improve food safety. But last month, the Government Accountability Office reported that the FDA wasn’t implementing the plan. Scientists have estimated that the agency's food budget would need $755 million more a year by 2013 to carry out its responsibilities. Prodded by Congress, the Bush administration proposed increasing food safety funding for the coming fiscal year by just $125 million.”

One of the things that government does better than the market is ensure basic levels of quality and safety. However, in order to achieve any of these levels, the government has to create an effective system and then properly fund it. Until Congress and the White House beef up the FDA, one can expect further outbreaks of disease and less certainty in America’s food supply.

© Copyright 2008 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

Kensington Review Home