"I once believed that anniversaries were happy occasions to celebrate life's milestones or achievements. But this month marks the first anniversary of the deadliest foodborne outbreak in 25 years, one that took my father's life. “Anniversary” no longer holds the same meaning for me.
My father was a dedicated family man. He loved his wife, six daughters and 13 grandchildren — and his cars. He never feared a day's hard work in his life and spent his younger years picking cotton under the sweltering sun in Casa Grande, Ariz. Later, he moved to Oklahoma where he would raise my sisters and me, retire and, last year, be laid to rest.
As a diabetic with a heart condition, my father always took his health seriously. Despite his efforts to stay in shape and visit the doctor regularly, on Aug. 28, 2011, he collapsed on his kitchen floor and was admitted to a hospital. He was released two days later and then re-admitted before the week was over. This time he didn't come home.
Two days after his funeral, we were told that he died from an infection caused by Listeria, bacteria that came from the contaminated cantaloupe he had eaten. Now, roughly a year later, millions of Americans are still falling ill from foodborne illnesses. Two ongoing Salmonella outbreaks — one linked to cantaloupe, another to mangoes — have already claimed three lives and sickened nearly 400 people.
After my dad died, my family learned about the Food Safety Modernization Act. This landmark legislation was designed to protect Americans from foodborne illnesses by shifting our approach from reactive to preventive. The law estab-lished mandatory safety standards for produce, including cantaloupe. It requires producers to put measures in place to ensure the safety of their foods and to be able to document those steps. It also holds imported foods to the same safety standards as domestic foods."
In January 2011, President Barack Obama signed the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) into law, signaling the first major update to our nation’s food safety oversight framework since the Great Depression. Despite widespread support for the legislation and its implementation, the Obama administration still has not issued all of the proposed rules under FSMA.
More info"The Food and Drug Administration will not reduce food inspections because of budget cuts, despite warning earlier that it could be forced to eliminate thousands of inspections by Sept. 30."
More info"Twenty-two weeks. That’s how long it took federal health officials to determine the contaminated food source after the first person was infected in a 2011 outbreak of salmonella that swept across 34 states, sickened 136 people and led to one of the largest national recalls of ground turkey."
More infoAn examination of a Salmonella Heidelberg outbreak linked to ground turkey illustrates that health authorities must be more aggressive in their efforts to detect and respond to foodborne illnesses, according to a new report by The Pew Charitable Trusts, titled “Too Slow: An Analysis of the 2011 Salmonella Ground Turkey Outbreak and Recommendations for Improving Detection and Response.” In all, the contaminated food sickened a reported 136 people in the United States, hospitalized 37 and killed one, according to government data.
More infoA multistate outbreak of Salmonella Heidelberg infections linked to ground turkey in 2011 sickened 136 people, causing 37 hospitalizations and one death. The Pew Charitable Trusts' analysis of the outbreak found numerous inadequacies in the foodborne illness surveillance system that, if addressed, could help to prevent illnesses and, in some cases, deaths.
More info"Six years ago, Bend resident Chrissy Christoferson's ten-month-old son suffered a ten-day struggle with what first appeared to be a touch of the flu."
More info"Portlander Joe Day tearfully recalled the year his family spent Thanksgiving in a hospital cafeteria, as his sister, suffering from e coli, fought for her life several floors above."
More infoMy name is Jennifer Exley, and I reside in Centennial, Colorado. I am the daughter of Herbert Stevens, who was deeply impacted by listeria-contaminated cantaloupe in August 2011. As you well know, 147 people were sickened and 33 people died in that outbreak — the deadliest in 25 years. My father was one of the so-called lucky survivors. His health and quality of life was, and remains, seriously affected because of something he ate.
More info''Several hundred farmers, regulators and consumers from Alaska to North Dakota to California gathered in Portland on Wednesday to listen to federal plans to overhaul the food safety system."
More infoThe Obama administration has taken an important step by releasing the draft rules central to implementing the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), but it must do more. Important draft regulations focused on the safety of imported foods are still awaiting release. These rules are especially important since about two-thirds of fruits and vegetables and 80 percent of seafood consumed in the United States come from abroad.
More infoOn Thursday, February 28 and Friday, March 1, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will hold public hearings in Washington, D.C., on FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) draft rules released earlier this year. The public will also have the opportunity to testify at agency meetings in Chicago and Portland on March 11-12 and March 27-28, respectively.
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