Why Isn't the FDA Stopping the Epidemic of Foodborne Illness?
The agency charged with overseeing the safety of our food is out to lunch. Here's why.
Barry Estabrook
Mother Jones, 5 December 2012
EXTRACT:
The 2011 listeria outbreak was not an isolated case. The United States is experiencing what amounts to an epidemic of foodborne illnesses. According to the CDC, there are about 48 million cases of food poisoning a year, leading to more than 128,000 hospitalizations and more than 3,000 deaths. E. coli in spinach and fruit juice, salmonella in eggs and jalapeño peppers, listeria not only in cantaloupes but in cheese and bagged lettuce-the toll from foodborne bacteria is mind-numbing.
