BUSPH's Heiger-Bernays: Time to Revisit Food Safety Regulations
Since mid-August, more than half a billion eggs have been recalled after hundreds of people became sick with possible salmonella poisoning. It is the largest national outbreak associated with salmonella enteritidis, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
To prevent future outbreaks, the entire U.S. food safety regulation program needs to be revisited, says Boston University School of Public Health Professor Wendy Heiger-Bernays, who spoke with BU Today about the recent outbreak and the state of food safety regulation in the United States.
The egg recall crisis, a serious cause for concern in itself, also points to the helter-skelter way food safety is regulated in the United States. The FDA is responsible for regulating eggs in their shells, but regulating chickens, the grading of eggs, and all liquid egg products is the province of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Neither government agency has the power to issue a product recall, relying solely on producers to do so voluntarily.
Read the full BU Today article “Food Safety Not All It’s Cracked Up to Be” to hear Heiger-Bernays full thoughts on the matter.
Submitted by Elana Zak.