Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Produce and poultry the main sources of food poisonings


Produce – specifically leafy greens – are now the main source of food poisonings in the United States, says the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.

Food safety communications guru Dr.Doug Powell says this is not surprising since produce is eaten fresh, so it gets no high-temperature cooking to kill harmful bacteria.

And if leafy greens are contaminated, once they are in the kitchen they can spread to other foods.

“This is nothing new, and nothing to be scared of,” writes Powell for his Barblog internet service.

“It means that food safety starts on the farm, and goes all the way through to the fork.”

He is critical of farmers and their organizations who claim food safety is important to them, yet provide no data to back up their claims.

He cites California leafy-greens growers as an example and says “for the number of outbreaks, for the number of severely ill and dead, for the decade of inaction, you don’t get to lecture Americans about how it’s a shared responsibility” of growers and consumers.

“Take care of your own stuff, admit when California leafy greens are involved in outbreaks instead of stalling and obstructing, and if you’re program is so great, publish all test results and market food safety at retail,” Powell wrote.

Otherwise, save the morality lectures and go back to growing crops, making money, and try not to make people barf.”

The Centers for Disease Control estimates there are more than nine million cases of food poisoning a year and found that produce is responsible in 46 per cent of those cases.

The Center says the produce and poultry industries need to take measures to prevent contamination.