Jim Prevor, “Aggrandizing the FDA Only Distracts from Real Solutions,” The New Atlantis, May 21, 2010
The man who authors The Perishable Pundit blog warns in this article that food safety legislation currently pending in Congress that would give the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) mandatory recall authority fails to address the issues that could have a real impact on addressing the problem of food contamination. He argues that absolute food safety is an unattainable goal given the vagaries of nature and the extreme and costly measures that producers would have to undertake to stop pathogens from entering the system.
He sets forth a six-point plan to improve the government’s approach to food safety: (i) “Switch to a Negligence Standard from a Strict Liability Standard, and Switch Primary Liability to the Trade Buyer”—Prevor claims this would give producers the incentive to invest in best practices and force buyers, with “a whole new interest in food safety,” a reason to pay more for the safest products; (ii) “Root Out Bribery and Corruption in Food Safety Certification”—Prevor contends that government inspectors are not doing their jobs in the United States; (iii) “Invest in State Health Laboratories”—according to Prevor, too many states do not have labs that can adequately identify food-borne illness; (iv) “Invest in Food Safety Research”; (v) “Revitalize the Ag Extension Service”; and (vi) “Educate Consumers About Food Safety.”
As to the latter, Prevor suggests that the best way to reduce foodborne illness is to educate consumers on “how to properly clean, separate, cook, and chill foods.” As an example, he notes that potatoes in themselves are almost immune from food safety issues, but when prepared as potato salad, continue to sicken many. He contends that FDA officials continue to make vague and general recommendations as to best practices rather than adopting specific proposals because “the recommendation would be no more than an attempt to juggle our imperfect knowledge of pathogen prevention with the realities of the world’s need for not only safe food but also plentiful and affordable food. No matter what standard was set, one day some creature would go under the FDA-specified fence, or over it or through it, leaving the agency itself responsible.”
