We reminded you yesterday that eating pork products in no way exposes you to the so-called "swine flu." Today, we bring you more information about the current H1N1 virus.

Courtesy of an interview with the Brownfield Ag News Network, Dr. Ron DeHaven, CEO of the American Veterinary Medical Association, explains that this is a virus not known to exist in animals... and that there are no reasons for food safety concerns.

From a recap of the interview with Dr. DeHaven, which is available in audio form:

As the "swine flu" outbreak continues to dominate the news, consumers who are concerned about the illness should know that exposure to pork products poses no threat in the spread of this disease.

“This disease is transmitted from human to human and, as far as we know right now, it does not involve pigs, livestock or pets,” explained Dr. Ron DeHaven, Chief Executive Officer of the American Veterinary Medical Association, which issued a statement today. The association advised people to follow the same proper cooking guidelines they should always follow for all meat products to avoid food-borne illnesses, such as salmonella.

Experts have said that the flu is, in fact, misnamed and that it consists of viruses including swine, poultry and human. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack issued a statement on April 26 that there was no evidence swine have been infected with the virus.

This new virus was first reported in North America. The virus has caused more severe illness and some deaths in Mexico, and, to date, there has been only one death from the illness reported in the United States.

Although American Association of Swine Veterinarians has reported that it is not immediately known whether pigs are susceptible to the virus, it has not been reported in pigs. As a result, there is no reason to fear that this flu can be caught be cooking, eating or handling pork products or from exposure to pigs or any other animals.

The symptoms of this new influenza are similar to seasonal flu but may have additional gastrointestinal problems, such as vomiting, stomach ache and diarrhea. For more information, please visit www.avma.org.

First peanuts and now pistachios? With all the recent headlines about contaminated food you start to wonder if anything is safe to eat. But consumers can learn a lot from these food safety issues.

Take the salmonella contamination in peanuts, for example. The CDC had quite a few cases of salmonella last fall. After months of investigation, they were able to connect the salmonella outbreak to products containing contaminated peanut butter paste that was eventually linked to the Peanut Corporation of America. In fact, Nestlé USA inspected the plant and declined to do business with the company because of the filthy conditions. Products containing PCA peanuts are still being identified and recalled, and the outbreak sickened hundreds and claimed nine lives.

In this case, the CDC had to work backwards to figure out the cause, which consumed months.

On the other hand, Kraft foods notified the FDA immediately of contaminated pistachios at a distributor’s facilities after they voluntarily recalled their own product. By giving the FDA a heads up and because they were able to identify the source of contamination, the agency was able to act proactively and quickly issued a warning to consumers to avoid pistachios until further information was available. Many private companies, like Nestlé USA and Kraft Foods, have quality control measures in place and follow strict government protocols to monitor their factories, suppliers and vendors in order to prevent bacterial contamination and help ensure their products are safe to eat.

But while self-policing has opened the door for the FDA to assume a more proactive role in notifying the public about potential contamination, many still believe more government regulation is necessary to ensure the safety of our food.

Lawmakers have offered a variety of proposals to address the safety of our food, including the establishment of a single agency monitoring food safety, improving the government’s ability to track food during all stages of the process, and giving the FDA the authority to put into effect mandatory recalls on contaminated food. Typically, recalls are voluntary, and the manufacturer or the distributor initiates this action. In the case of meat or poultry, the Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS), a division of the USDA, inspects those facilities. If the facility doesn’t follow proper procedures, the FSIS has the authority to refuse to inspect the facility. Without a passing inspection from the FSIS, a manufacturer cannot sell their product, keeping unsafe meats off the grocery shelves.

But any changes made to the food inspection system are likely to be costly, and may take time to implement. In the meantime, it’s important to remember there are a few things you can do to protect yourself from foodborne pathogens like Salmonella and E. Coli.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends sticking to four, easy to live by rules to help prevent contamination. Thoroughly clean your hands, utensils and kitchen surfaces with hot, soapy water to kill any bacteria before AND after handling food. It’s a good idea to use different, clean utensils for cutting raw meat and anything else, like veggies. Make sure you cook to the recommended internal temperatures, and keep hot foods hot. A rare steak may sound delicious, but it’s a pretty risky dish. Keep raw meat, poultry and fish separate from other foods, like fruits and veggies. This prevents cross-contamination from occurring. Put your groceries away immediately!  Especially foods that belong in the refrigerator.

The CDC also encourages consumers to report possible outbreaks to their local health department. Self reporting to local health departments is often the way that outbreaks are detected by state and federal food safety and public health officials.

The responsibility for being proactive about the safety of our food lies not only in the hands of government and private companies, but with consumers like you. Rapid reporting and response from the government and private companies, partnered with consumers practicing smart food hygiene, are little things that can have a big impact on the safety of our food.

It's time for another Chew on This podcast on protecting our food supply and keeping our food safe.

One thing that you definitely should know by now is that veterinarians are crucial to food safety. Our last podcast detailed some of the ways that vets do this.

In this week's Chew on This podcast, we dig a little deeper into the specific jobs that veterinarians hold in public and private service. Our guest is Dr. Ted Mashima, Associate Executive Director for Academic & Research Affairs at the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges. Dr. Mashima tells us about interesting and important jobs that veterinarians hold.

Listen to the new podcast now.

In the wake of a national peanut recall—which preceded a national pistachio recall but followed the nation’s largest ever beef recall, an international pet food recall, and outbreaks of food borne illness connected to fresh peppers and spinach—the movement to create a more unified food inspection program has gained substantial traction. While many groups, including the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), have been calling for reform of the system for more than a decade, this discussion seems to have drawn enthusiastic new supporters in recent months.

Most recently, the Trust for America's Health has joined many other health and food safety organizations that are calling for a reorganization of the Food & Drug Administration (FDA). What’s more, it’s not just food safety advocates that are speaking out in favor of this concept. In fact, the idea is popular with those concerned about drug inspections as well. Drug company executives are quietly supporting a split of the FDA out of concerns that its current configuration is or will slow down new drug approvals.

It’s still unclear what the Obama administration plans to do about the situation. While President Obama has discussed an overhaul of the food safety agencies in the past, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told Congress on March 31 that it was premature to determine how food regulations and inspections should be organized. He also stated that the FDA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) have competing philosophies.

We at keepourfoodsafe.org would argue that this last statement alone would seem to indicate that unified leadership to oversee food safety might be a good idea.  Food inspectors, physicians, public health veterinarians and everyone involved in the food inspection process would be better served by unified leadership instead of competing agencies with competing philosophies.  A unified agency with a single approach should be granted the resources required to manage the full scope of the food quality assurance programs from farm to fork.

Whatever reforms do take place in Washington, DC in the coming months, we at www.keepourfoodsafe.org would like to remind the politicians that they have experts across the country—veterinarians on farms and in government offices, physicians and nurses, associations like the American Medical Association and the AVMA (along with the One Health Commission, which links human, animal and environmental health), and the farmers and food producers themselves. Working together, America’s already excellent level of food safety can and will be improved.

Good news! Thanks in part to the hard work and advocacy of our readers, Congress has provided funding for Food Animal Residue Avoidance Databank (FARAD) and the National Veterinary Medical Service Act (NVMSA) -- two important programs for keeping our food safe -- in the omnibus spending bill President Obama signed last month.

As we've told you before, FARAD provides information about how to avoid residues of medications and contaminants in food animals, and NVMSA will provide loan repayment for veterinarians who work in underserved areas -- like with the food supply. Both programs are crucial to sustaining and improving the safety of our food supply.

The inclusion of the funding in the spending bill is a victory for both programs. The battle for ongoing funding will eventually begin again, but for now, we can take a breather and focus on other food safety challenges.

Here's what JAVMA News says about the funding of these programs:

"Congress included $2.95 million for NVMSA... In exchange for a commitment to work in underserved areas of veterinary medicine, recipients are granted student loan repayment. The bill was signed into law in 2003, but its implementation has been delayed by the Agriculture Department, which is still in the process of promulgating regulations for the program...

FARAD, a program until recently on the brink of extinction because of insufficient funding, received a desperately needed $806,000 appropriation. A number of organizations including the AVMA had donated more than $16,000 to keep the program running in the short term, but a major cash infusion was needed.

"I am very relieved because we were basically going to have to shut FARAD forever by the end of summer," said Dr. Alistair Webb, one of the program's three directors and a professor at the University of Florida-Gainesville.

The money will keep FARAD going for another year without additional layoffs, Dr. Webb explained."

We've told you before that veterinarians play a crucial role in keeping our food safe. Veterinarians don’t just take care of pets; they also help ensure a safe and healthy food supply.

In our latest Chew on This podcast, Dr. Mark Lutschaunig, director of the AVMA’s Governmental Relations Division, explains the indispensible role veterinarians play in food safety and how a shortage of food animal veterinarians could spell trouble. Listen to the new podcast now.