Foodborne Illness Costs US $152 Billion Annually: Study

[depakid]

Source: Reuters

Foodborne illnesses cost the United States $152 billion in health-related expenses each year, according to a study released by consumer and public health groups on Wednesday. Food safety advocates are hoping that the study will boost efforts in Congress to overhaul the nation's antiquated food safety system.

Dozens of pathogens, many of them unknown, creep into the food supply each year, sickening millions. The price tag includes medical costs, lost productivity and quality-of-life, according to a study from the Produce Safety Project. "This is significantly more than previous official estimates and it demonstrates the serious burden that foodborne illness places on society," said Sandra Eskin, a spokeswoman with Make Our Food Safe Coalition, a group of consumer, public health and other groups pushing for stronger food safety laws.

The latest study to delve into foodborne illnesses comes as Congress works to craft legislation that would mark the first major overhaul of the food safety system in 50 years. The House passed its bill last July and the Senate, which has been bogged down with healthcare and regulatory reform, is expected to act this year.

"My hope... is that the sobering numbers of this report will compel the Senate to act immediately on food safety legislation," said Rep. Rosa DeLauro, who has vigorously pushed for food safety reform. "We literally cannot afford to wait."

Read more: http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2010/03/03-7

[gtar100]

1. That's money in the bank for our health "care" industry. So don't expect

any fast action or consumer protection. There's people out there that gotta grip on that old mighty dollar and just because the other end of it is tied to our suffering through illnesses is no reason to let go. After all, in America it's a everyone for themselves.

All these bills are just talk, talk, talk. When is anything meaningful going to get passed when we have so many douche bags in the Senate (my apologies to douche bags for the poor analogy; because they are actually useful).

[cornermouse]

2. Stimulating the economy?

:shrug:

I wish they'd hire more food inspectors.

[pipoman]

3. The easy answer?

Cook everything you eat to 165 degrees..lettuce salads are not quite as yummy, but the danger of getting a tummy ache is eliminated..

Seriously folks, there is intrinsic danger in eating, always has been, always will be. Produce is highly susceptible because it grows in/on the ground where salmonella and other food borne pathogens reside. I see that the article espouses spending more money on food borne illness, but absolutely no suggestion how reduction of contamination will be achieved. Short of cooking or irradiating I am not aware of any way to kill, say, salmonella and still have an edible product afterward.

Maybe the Senate should, right after they outlaw food borne illness, outlaw aging, it is afterall the leading cause of death in the US....yeah, that's the ticket....outlaw aging...com'mon people rise up, speak out, lets eliminate aging and food borne illness in our generation!

[Zoeisright]

4. FAIL.

I have a degree in food science. The food inspection system in this country is absolutely piss poor. If you knew more about it you wouldn't be so cavalier.

We allow huge corporate farms, packers, and food manufacturers to literally get away with murder in this country. The inspection process is an absolute joke. More than 6,000 Americans die every single year in this country from food borne illness.

Reagan started killing the FDA and USDA and no one has fixed it since.

Of course there's an intrinsic danger to life, but corporations have gotten a free pass on this issue for way too long.

I suggest you educate yourself before you start spouting nonsense.

[pipoman]

5. Do tell which part(s), specifically,

assuming that you have sarcasm sense, which isn't always a given, of the post you responded to isn't true? Isn't heating food to 165 degrees or irradiating it the only ways to eliminate salmonella on food/produce?

Tell me what country doesn't have cases of food borne illness? Which ones?

Food is no longer a regional thing. Food, especially produce, is a cyclical commodity. An individual can decide to try to eat only locally grown commodities and minimize the possibility of illness, maybe. North American produce for the masses, including restaurants and grocery stores, are part of a seasonal loop in production and harvest dates. IOW everything you eat on the salad bar at KFC is the same potential product which could be served at the most expensive venue in a city, or purchased at your grocery store.

Could the current system use some attention? Undoubtedly, but right now, when I order my groceries tomorrow, it is what it is right now, nothing more or less. There is a point though where regardless of the level of inspection, a black rat snake is going to slither through the lettuce field, lurking, hunting, pissing, contaminating fresh lettuce with salmonella and someone is going to get the shits for a day, and someone who is susceptible, will die...as it has always been.

Now, do tell, o self proclaimed genius of all things food, for everyone who would like to eat lunch tomorrow, where shall they go to get their salad as to be completely free from risk of food borne illness? If you can't answer that question for each person who reads this thread (who wants to eat a nice fresh salad tomorrow and are waiting for your answer), well then, whose post (your #4 or my post #3) is the actual 'FAIL'?