Of the five senses, perhaps the senses of smell and taste make the most lasting impressions. Remember school lunches? I know I’ll never forget mine. For example, what my elementary school’s lunch ladies called “smoky links”—cocktail weenies swimming in congealed gravy—and what passed for a burrito are burned into my memory.

I grew up in an era when the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), under President Regan, revised school lunch standards to allow school nutritionists to consider ketchup and other condiments like pickle relish as a portion of vegetables. Luckily, that was quickly reversed as a result of public outcry.

If you were a suffering public school cafeteria kid like me, you’ll be interested to know that things are improving for kids at lunchtime. Why? Health concerns for our children’s growing obesity problems and the public’s increasing concern about food safety has inspired politicians to take new interest in school lunches.

In fact, the USDA has begun offering politicians and their staff members taste tests of some of the top items on school lunch menus. Congressional members and staff recently feasted on chicken fajitas and sliced ham a la school cafeteria, for example.

The USDA supplies schools with meats, fruits, dairy and other food stuffs through a program that has a dual purpose—to help feed underprivileged children and also support agricultural markets. This program has improved since the days when I was a cafeteria diner. Today, the program offers a far wider selection to schools—180 different foods today compared to just 54 in 1981 (the same year as the ketchup-as-vegetable scandal and my not-so-beloved smoky links). The diversity of foods available to schools through the USDA now includes dried fruits, nuts, brown rice, legumes and unprocessed meats. In short, with these healthier options, it should be easier for school lunch ladies to craft healthy meals for kids. Getting the kids to eat them is another matter.

You may have heard that U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack recently announced new measures to combat foodborne illnesses caused by E. coli.

“Over the last eight months since President Obama took office, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has been aggressive in its efforts to improve food safety, and has been an active partner in establishing and contributing to President Obama's Food Safety Working Group (FSWG),” Vilsack stated in a recent USDA press release.

The president created the FSWG, which is charged with developing food safety policies, shortly after coming into office. The FSWG has since identified prevention as its first priority. While no new funding has been allocated, the FSWG has recommended that inspectors prioritize prevention by using science-based data to focus on foods and products that present the most risk.

The FSWG is also pushing for quicker response to outbreaks through the development of new food-tracing systems, which would help speed the process of tracking down the source of of the contamination. Currently, the USDA is looking at ways to enhance trace-back methods that would require all grinders, processors, distributors and stores to maintain accurate records in order to enhance the ability of public health officials to respond to and, hopefully, stop future outbreaks. In addition, the FSWG is developing a new incident command system that would link all relevant agencies -- and state and local governments -- in order to facilitate quicker communication and decision making during an emergency.

These efforts also include a new USDA initiative to step up inspections of meat processing facilities. This effort includes something new -- conducting routine sampling of bench trim for E. coli. Bench trim is pieces of meat that remain after steaks and other cuts of beef are produced. Bench trim is routinely used in ground beef and often suspected during E. coli outbreaks. This new procedure will create an added layer of protection, and it could mean that the same piece of beef could be tested twice, once before it’s ground and then a second time after it is made into hamburger. This new testing pays particular attention to more dangerous strains of E. coli (E. coli O157:H7). Other changes include:

* new USDA instructions to federal inspectors asking that they verify sanitary practices at beef processing plants;

* a newly appointed chief medical officer to the USDA’s Food Safety Inspection Service to reaffirm its role as a public health agency;

* and new USDA industry guidelines on how to control E. coli O157:H7 contamination. It’s interesting to see that some companies in the private sector jumped on the bandwagon soon after Vilsack’s announcement. Costco, for one, announced its own expanded testing program for E. coli in the ground beef it sells. Costco had been negotiating with some of its suppliers for some time to be allowed to test ingredients in ground beef before grinding. Now the giant retailer has reached an accord with Tyson, one of the largest beef producers in America, which would allow Costco to test beef trimmings before they are ground into Tyson ground beef. This is a major step, because many American grinders and beef processors have reportedly been slow to allow testing of components of ground beef.

All of this is great news for those of us who like a good, juicy hamburger once in a while, not to mention all those other classic American dishes that involve ground beef. Although more testing will undoubtedly cause some headaches and added expense for stores and meat processors, we think the end result—safer food for our families to eat—is worth the cost.

Learn more about the dangers of E. coli by listening to the Chew on This Podcast: "The ABC's of E. coli"

And the people have spoken! Well, sort of.

Recently, our federal government took a major step forward by approving the Obama Administration’s food safety recommendations.  The House of Representatives passed H.R. 2749, also known as the “Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009.” 

The Food Safety Enhancement Act significantly increases the authority the Food and Drug Administration to ensure the safety of our food, as well as set regulations for facilities and importers. 

Under this legislation, food facilities are required to conduct a hazard analysis, implement preventative measures and provide a plan in the event of an outbreak.  The Secretary of Health and Human Services (the department that houses the FDA) is given the authority to create a verification program for imported foods and quarantine food in specific geographic areas in the United States in the event of an outbreak.

Additionally, the bill gives the FDA the authority to recall of contaminated food.  Previously, the FDA only had the authority to recommend the recall of a product, but it was up to the manufacturers and distributors to take action.

The FDA is required to provide science-based standards to minimize the hazards from contaminants, create an accreditation program for laboratories to test imported and exported food and establish a national traceback system.  The FDA also has the authority to assess fees related to facility reinspection or recall – a nice little incentive for manufacturers to keep facilities up to date.  Finally, every six to 12 months the agency is required to conduct inspections at high-risk facilities, like processing plants that handle products that spoil easily or facilities with a history of food safety problems.  If an inspection is delayed or refused by any facility, the food is considered to be contaminated, even if it safe to eat. 

It’s important to remember that this legislation only applies to the FDA, and these specific standards don’t apply to meat and poultry, since these products are inspected by the USDA.  But the FDA is responsible for regulating more than 80% of the food we eat, and USDA products have been regulated under tighter standards for a long time.

What’s next for H.R. 2749?  It becomes the supreme law of the land, right?  Not quite.  The bill still needs to pass the Senate, which mostly likely will not hear the issue until this fall.  Stay tuned.  We’ll keep you posted.

Looks like our nation’s food safety system could get a much needed makeover.

The Obama Administration recently announced a plan to beef up federal efforts in reducing Salmonella and E. Coli contamination in our food supply.   In March, President Obama created a Food Safety Working Group to discuss ways of addressing foodborne outbreaks, focusing on proactive approaches to prevent the spread of disease.

The Food Safety Working Group provided recommendations in three specific areas of our food safety system that are in need of some attention.

First, the working group recommended focusing on preventing the spread of Salmonella contamination, specifically in eggs and poultry.  According to the CDC, eggs are one of the leading causes of Salmonella outbreaks each year.  But for years the government was unable to finalize any rules on egg safety.  We have one now.  The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a final rule to control the contamination of eggs during production and transportation.  Egg producers are required to implement and comply with Salmonella prevention standards which include refrigeration requirements, pest and rodent control programs, facility sanitation requirements and recordkeeping requirements including documentation that the facility has complied with Salmonella prevention measures.   Additionally, the Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) is in the process of developing new standards to reduce Salmonella in turkey and poultry, and hopes to have 90% of poultry establishments in compliance by the end of 2010.

Second, the working group discussed the importance of a national traceback and response system to help identify the source of an outbreak quickly and efficiently.  This includes developing a method to locate the origins of food outbreaks, creating a command center linking federal agencies with state and local governments to effectively communicate with one another during an outbreak, and working with state and local agencies to update their emergency and investigation procedures in the event of an outbreak.

Finally, the working group suggested ways to improve the organization of federal food safety responsibilities by creating a new position - the Deputy Commissioner of Foods.  This role will oversee the FDA’s food safety efforts and work with other entities, including the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), to develop a stronger food safety system.  Establishing this position creates responsibility and accountability in overseeing our food safety system as well as providing consumers with a clear authority figure to effectively enforce food safety regulations.

Many consumer, manufacturer and public health organizations are on board with this overhaul.  Consumer advocacy groups, like the Grocery Manufacturers of America and Consumer’s Union, agree that these recommendations are large steps to prioritizing the prevention of contamination in our food supply.

While these recommendations are short-term steps to finding a long-term solution, they are still steps in the right direction.  By making outbreak prevention a priority, we can improve the safety of food around the globe.  But implementing these new standards will require the time, effort and manpower of many individuals, including additional food supply veterinarians to inspect our food and enforce the standards.

And there is already a critically short supply.

Check out the video below to see what organizations, like the American Veterinary Medical Association, have to say on the role veterinarians will have in the Obama Administration’s new and improved food safety system.

With so much recent debate over how the federal government should improve food safety, we decided it was time to get some straight talk from an expert. Our latest Chew on This podcast has the answers and info you've been looking for on what the federal government is doing to keep our food safe.

Recent food safety outbreaks and recalls have caused many to question the efficiency and effectiveness of our federal food safety system. In this new podcast, Dr. Ron DeHaven, Chief Executive Officer of the AVMA, explains which federal agencies work to keep our food safe and discusses what the government can do to improve food safety.

Listen now.

Alright, class, time for another lesson in food safety and the federal government. We all know that the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is responsible for ensuring the safety of our meat, poultry and eggs, and that other sections within the USDA are also hard at work protecting some other food sources. And we also know that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) checks on our food too: veggies, dairy, seafood and processed products. But here’s a question to test your food safety knowledge: do you know how the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) fits into this equation?

The CDC is a public health agency that works to equip humans with the necessary tools to protect their health. They investigate all types of diseases and work on many different types of disease prevention and control, including foodborne diseases, like salmonella, and diseases that aren’t transmitted through our food, like influenza. While the CDC doesn’t regulate our food supply, it does work closely with the USDA and the FDA to interpret data collected from state and local public health authorities and it investigates foodborne related outbreaks.

Like the name implies, foodborne diseases are transmitted through the consumption of contaminated food. Stomach Flu or noroviruses, for example, are spread person to person. In fact, humans are the sole reservoir for noroviruses, and noroviruses cause the vast majority of foodborne illnesses.

Additionally, hygiene and food preparation play an important role in spreading disease. People play an unintended yet significant role in the transmission of foodborne diseases through poor hygiene, such as not washing their hands properly. Improper food storage and preparation, such as not cooking meat at a high enough temperature, also contribute to foodborne illness.

Back to the CDC… The CDC’s Emerging Infections Program (EIP) developed the Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network (FoodNet) in 1995 as an important component of its foodborne disease initiative. FoodNet collaborates with the USDA, FDA and ten EIP sites across the United States to provide information that helps public officials better understand and respond to foodborne illness outbreaks.

Generally, as the result of a physician requesting lab tests on a patient, the discovery of a foodborne disease is reported by the laboratory to the state health department. After extensive investigation by the local authorities, suspected outbreaks are reported to the CDC. Because an intricate chain of events needs to occur before the CDC is notified, and because most people don’t visit a doctor for these types of mild illnesses, very few are actually reported to the CDC.

FoodNet, on the other hand, provides a quicker way for foodborne outbreaks to be detected. Reports of outbreaks are continuously being checked by public officials, instead of waiting for labs to report incidents and outbreaks. Public officials frequently contact the laboratories to inquire about new cases of foodborne illness and report them to the CDC, so they can closely monitor these events and provide more accurate estimates of the extent and effect of these outbreaks.