Is our food supply safe?

Salmonella outbreak linked to contaminated peanut butter.

Pistachios are recalled because Salmonella was found in "critical areas" of a processing plant.

Salmonella is a group of bacteria that can cause diarrheal illness in humans. They are microscopic living creatures that pass from the feces of people or animals to other people or other animals. There are many different kinds of Salmonella bacteria. Salmonella serotype Typhimurium and Salmonella serotype Enteritidis are the most common in the United States. Salmonella germs have been known to cause illness for over 100 years. They were discovered by an American scientist named Salmon, for whom they are named.

In general, our food supply is safe, and in developed countries, such as the United States, the food supply is of good quality. On the other hand, while medications and pharmaceuticals are highly regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), food is not as carefully monitored. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) performed research and have found that there are "gaps in the current food safety system".

Foodborne diseases remain an important public health problem in the United States. The Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network (FoodNet) of CDC's Emerging Infections Program collects data from 10 U.S. states on diseases caused by enteric pathogens transmitted commonly through food. FoodNet is an active, population-based surveillance system for these laboratory-confirmed infections. This report describes preliminary surveillance data for 2008 and trends since 1996. In 2008, the estimated incidence of infections caused by Campylobacter, Cryptosporidium, Cyclospora, Listeria, Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) O157, Salmonella, Shigella, Vibrio, and Yersinia did not change significantly when compared with the preceding 3 years. For most infections, incidence was highest among children aged <4>50 years. None of the Healthy People 2010 targets for reduction of foodborne pathogens (objective 10-1) were reached in 2008. The lack of recent progress points to gaps in the current food safety system and the need to continue to develop and evaluate food safety practices as food moves from the farm to the table. [Reference from the CDC].