It looks like recent food safety scares -- notably recent concern about salmonella in certain types of produce -- has caused a lot of Americans to change their food-buying habits.

The Associated Press reports that a new AP-Ipsos poll found “nearly half of Americans are concerned they may get sick from eating contaminated food and are avoiding items they normally would buy.” That’s a pretty significant number. The poll also found that 75% of Americans feel confident in the overall safety of the food they eat, but that 86% want produce labeled so each step -- from the farm to the salad bowl -- can be traced. Eighty percent support stricter federal standards for produce.

More from the article: “Forty-six percent said they were worried they might get sick from eating contaminated food and that they have avoided foods because of safety warnings that they normally would have purchased. Twenty-nine percent have thrown out food earlier than usual and 14 percent have returned food to the store.”

We can’t help but agree with the need for strong systems and programs to help keep our food safe. This is why we’ve been championing the Food Animal Residue Avoidance Databank (FARAD) for so long. FARAD doesn’t deal specifically with produce. It focuses on the meat, eggs and dairy products we eat. However, the need for rapid-response programs that offer contaminant information applies across the spectrum of food we consume daily. And for food coming from animals, FARAD does this.

FARAD is an established system -- up and running (for now) -- that provides those who treat and monitor food animals with vital info for keeping our food supply safe. We’ve told you, repeatedly, how important it is to food safety. You helped us get FARAD language in the Farm Bill and helped us get the Farm Bill passed. We celebrated a little bit.

But now, we’re learning that Congress has not fully funded FARAD, and the program is in danger of completely shutting down. Yeah, that’s right! Congress gave Americans their word in the Farm Bill that FARAD should be funded at $2.5M, but now, when it’s time to find the actual money, they’re backing down. They’re turning their back on food safety by not providing the funding that they approved in the Farm Bill. FARAD, the type of food safety system that Americans not only need but clearly (based on the AP poll) want, will probably soon shut down if Congress doesn’t cough up the $2.5 million a year it needs to operate. And then, what are Americans supposed to do? Cross their fingers and hope for the best?

Take action today to save FARAD and tell Congress to fully fund this program before it’s too late.

We have more good news to report from the front lines of food safety. More than five years in the making, the National Veterinary Medical Service Act (NVMSA) is about to become a reality. Soon, the legislation to provide loan repayment for veterinarians who work in underserved areas -- like with the food supply -- will become a living, breathing program.

And for those of you reading this at home who have no idea what NVSMA is, let me give you the back story. There is a shortage of veterinarians who care for, treat and inspect the animals that become our meat and dairy products. Anyway you slice it, that can’t be seen as good news. So, to encourage more vets to work with food supply animals and in rural areas (where the cows, pigs, etc., usually are, obviously), Congress passed NVMSA in 2003. NVMSA will help the vets who volunteer to work in these positions or neglected areas by helping them repay some of their student loans.

Even though the program was approved in 2003 and funded by Congress in 2006, 2007 and 2008, the program never got started. Well, now it’s about to finally happen.

How did we do it? Ultimately, the feat of bringing NVMSA to reality was accomplished by a Congressional mandate – inserted in the Farm Bill approved this spring – that motivated the USDA to move forward. The folks at USDA will be the ones administering NVMSA, and now they have about nine months to work out all the particulars of who is eligible, how they will apply, etc.

Hopefully, by next fall, veterinarians can start applying. And it looks like, soon after that, more vets will be working on the food supply in rural areas.

We had the chance to talk to Dr. Gregory S. Hammer, AVMA’s President, about the success of NVMSA. For Dr. Hammer, the victory is the culmination of a long and arduous pursuit. “ Make no mistake about it – it has taken us five years of reaching out, reaching in, wrangling, rebuking, begging, banging, teaching and testifying on Capitol Hill and to the Executive Branch for NVMSA to become a reality,” Dr. Hammer said.

Dr. Hammer testified in support of NVMSA before a US House of Representatives subcommittee earlier this year, urging implementation of NVSMA. Hats off to him and all the many others who worked so hard for this food safety victory!

If you want to learn more about NVMSA, go here and scroll down. There are a lot of great links at the bottom of the page.

As Americans get ready for their summer vacations and Independence Day BBQs, we thought we’d take a minute to point out a great resource for learning about the folks who keep those burgers and hot dogs safe for us to eat. The resource is the AVMA’s Food Supply Veterinary Medicine site, and it’s a must-visit for anyone interested in food safety.

The AVMA’s Food Supply Veterinary Medicine site provides colleges of veterinary medicine, states, industry, other veterinary organizations, media and veterinary medical students with the recruitment tools they need to bring veterinarians into various food-supply veterinarian careers.

Why is it important to get people in those jobs? Well, as the world’s population rises, the wo rldwide demand for food from animals is also expected to increase by 50% by the year 2020. This, coupled with agroterrorism threats, emerging diseases and the increased globalization of the food chain, are all increasing the demand for food supply veterinarians.

Here’s something to chew on: our nation has a critical shortage of the veterinarians who work to protect us from food-borne diseases. We need more veterinarians, including new graduates, to enter and stay in food-supply careers. We need more veterinary medical students to consider the careers in food supply veterinary medicine and more pre-veterinary students with plans to go into this critical discipline of veterinary medicine.

Check out the site. There’s lots of great info there, like food supply veterinarian data maps and clarification of some of those food safety terms that are so confusing. And remember to thank the food safety vets while you’re enjoying your 4th of July BBQ.