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.

The national salmonella outbreak in February that was tied to the Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) has shocked Americans in many ways, but the one that really caught folks off guard was that the peanuts used to make the recalled products were certified as organic. Now, just because a food stuff is labeled organic doesn’t mean it won’t be a part of a recall. In fact, any number of so-called organic products has been part of recalls. But because this recall has been so massive, the next unfortunate victim of the recall might just be the integrity of organic foods and, especially, the organic label.

So, if you try to stick to items labeled as organic, one thing to consider is that an organic certification doesn’t mean the food is safer… it means it’s produced according to the standards set by the National Organics Standards Board.

Organics began as a cottage industry decades ago by a small group of farmers who wanted to explore ways of producing more wholesome, healthier foods. Today, raising and selling organics is big business, and many consumers have shown they’re willing to pay as much as 50 percent more for organic products.

But while organic food is pricy, you shouldn’t assume that paying more for organics means that they are free of pathogens. In fact, it could be just the opposite. For example, organic meats must have little or no exposure to antibiotics, and yet antibiotics are the most effective tools farmers and veterinarians use to control pathogens. That presents a conundrum for anyone purchasing organic meats. (By the way, if you missed our Chew on This podcast All About Organics, now is a good time to listen to it.)

There’s another thing that’s important to keep in mind. Any standard is only as strong as its standard-bearer. Organic foods are inspected by private inspectors who are paid by the organic food producers themselves – the very people they are employed to inspect. In the case of Peanut Corporation of America, one of these private certifiers took seven months from the time he first discovered that PCA lacked a state health certificate to report the problem to the USDA and request that PCA lose its organic label. And, he wrote that report after the national recall had come to light.

Even with an understanding of what organic means, there is room for differences of opinion. For example, some people believe that only organic meats are free of antibiotics. But many vets and farmers would dispute this. Food products that have not been raised organically do not contain antibiotics, either. In non-organic foods, antibiotics can be used to treat a sick animal or to keep diseases from spreading to the other animals. But a withdrawal period assures that the animal has time to metabolize – and make sure the antibiotic is no longer present in the animal – before it is sold for food or its milk is sold for consumption. So, non-organic producers could argue that non-organic milk and meats are also antibiotic free.

This isn’t to say that www.keepourfoodsafe.org doesn’t respect the organic label. Quite the contrary. These labels offer consumers important information. But consumers should educate themselves about what, exactly, that label means. When certifiers do their jobs, an organic label means nothing more than that a food meets a set definition of organic.

There’s one thing we can all agree on: the peanut recall has us all talking about food safety. The average American consumer may have been initially caught off guard by the salmonella outbreak, but you can be sure that it’s made us all more attuned to critical issues that affect the safety of the food we eat. We’ll continue to monitor many of those issues here and, as always, let you know when you can get involved or take action to help keep our food safe.