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Food Safety and Inspection
Service United States Department of Agriculture Washington, D.C. 20250-3700 |
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Food Safety and Inspection
Service United States Department of Agriculture Washington, D.C. 20250-3700 |
Consumer Education and Information
Volume 6, No. 2 2001 CONTINUATION
Summer Food Safety Concerns Illness outbreaks and research continue to show that summer can bring more than hot sun and vacation. Educators can help consumers stay safe by tuning in to these food safety issues and resources:
Fruits and Vegetables Nothing says "summer" like fresh produce: tomatoes still warm from the sun, strawberries meltingly sweet, the sharp tang of arugula.
At the same time, consumers need to remember that dangerous micro-organisms can be everywhere--even on our summertime vegetables.
Whether they're grown in another country or our own back yard, our fruits and vegetables can harbor dangerous pathogens. They can become contaminated by the soil they're grown in or water used for irrigation or rinsing.
But many resources are available for both consumers and producers to reduce risks of illness. Key tips to remember:
Interested in preserving some of that summer harvest? Kansas State University has posted a terrific Web page with links to preservation information and publications from around the country. The Web page also links to a new Food Preservation Database created by the Penn State Department of Food Science. Go to: http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/extrapidresponse/Food%20Preservation.htm
Fairs Public health officials, fair promoters, and consumers are all paying more attention to health hazards from fairs and petting zoos.
These sites can present special health hazards, especially because of the presence of farm animals. In addition, fairs are frequently dealing with untrained or volunteer workers, temporary cooking and sanitation facilities as well as lots of animals around--including accompanying flies and rodents.
Outbreak investigations as well as case control studies from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirm there can be numerous modes of transmission for E. coli O157: H7.
According to CDC's FoodNet Coordinator Malinda Kennedy, most illnesses have been associated with contaminated food or drink, such as undercooked ground beef or raw uncooked produce. These products have usually been contaminated with animal feces containing E. coli O157: H7.
Not surprisingly then, contact with farm animals--such as calves--can significantly increase the risk of illness from E. coli O157: H7, according to Kennedy. This fecal bacteria can be present on the animal's skin or even on railings of the pen. When you touch those surfaces, your hands can become contaminated. When your hand goes to your mouth, you could be ingesting enough bacteria to make you sick.
On April 6, 2001, the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) published results of the first outbreaks in the U. S. confirming that E. coli O157: H7 can be directly transmitted from farm animals to humans. These outbreaks, occurring in 2000, also emphasized the special risks of illness faced by young children. In one of the outbreaks, the median age of those who became ill was 4 years old (median meaning half above and half below).
The article is titled "Outbreaks of Escherichia coli O157: H7 Infections Among Children Associated With Farm Visits." Go to: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5015a5.htm
To deal with these types of hazards, many health officials are devoting more time to checking fairs and petting zoos. They are also inspecting water supplies which can become contaminated with runoff from farm animals.
Consumers need to take precautions as well. While petting zoos are terrific fun for the kids, they can spell trouble when a hand that just petted a calf goes into a child's mouth.
To help reduce risks of illness, the MMWR article includes the following advice (go to the article for the complete list of recommendations):
A 1997 FoodNet case control study also found a link between exposure to farm animals and illness from E. coli O157: H7. Go to: http://www.cdc.gov/foodnet/pub/iceid/1998/kassenborg_h.htm
In addition to washing hands-- and eating only in "animal-free" areas--consumers need to remember that food safety at fairs revolves around "hot," "cold," and "clean." Food that's supposed to be hot should be steaming hot. Cold foods should be cold, and if facilities don't look clean, don't eat there.
Finally, check out this new publication. It's an important resource for volunteer cooks at fairs: Cooking for Groups: A Volunteer's Guide to Food Safety, produced by the Food Safety and Inspection Service, http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OA/pubs/cfg/cfg.htm
Safe GrillingFor many people, there's nothing better than a steak, chicken or fish cooked out over the grill. Smoke wafting up, that nice charred outside.
Hold that picture. Zoom in on the "nice charred outside." It looks good, but is it good for you?
For more than 10 years now, scientists have been studying the link between mutagens that can be formed in charred meats and cancer--including colon cancer, lung cancer and even breast cancer.
According to one of the country's primary researchers in the field, Dr. Rashmi Sinha of the National Cancer Institute, "Something is going on with grilled meats. There's a clear relationship between very high temperatures and the risk of cancer-causing agents."
Is this just another "hassle" for hazard-weary consumers? Not really. It's easy to keep meat safe from dangerous charring.
Dr. Sinha's advice includes:
"It's important to help consumers understand how to cook without undercooking or overcooking," Dr. Sinha added. That's one more reason to use a food thermometer-- food is safely cooked without being overcooked. (See the "Thermy™" campaign: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/thermy)
To get all the food safety tips on grilling, check out this fact sheet produced by the Food Safety and Inspection Service: "Barbecue Food Safety Facts," http://www.fsis.usda.gov/oa/pubs/facts_barbecue.htm
Of special interest to health professionals-- In November 2001, Dr. Sinha is
coordinating a conference on cancer-causing agents and meat to be held in
Washington, DC. For more information, check the Web site: http://www.palladianpartners.com/amineconference 
Food Net Follow-Up: For the Year 2000, No Dramatic ChangesFoodNet is an active foodborne illness surveillance system operating in sentinel sites throughout the U. S. It is a collaborative project among the sites, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Food Safety and Inspection Service, and the Food and Drug Administration.
To help readers access information being produced by FoodNet, The
Food Safety Educator periodically highlights FoodNet findings.
According to preliminary data from FoodNet for the year 2000, Campylobacter continues to be the leading cause of bacterial foodborne disease in sentinel site areas, followed by Salmonella, Shigella, and E. coli O157:H7.
At the same time, the data also show substantial regional and year-to-year variations.
Despite these variations, however, the general magnitude of illness and rate of illness caused by different pathogens have remained fairly constant. According to FoodNet Coordinator Malinda Kennedy, there are no dramatic ups or downs."
The data for 2000, along with comparisons to surveillance data from past years, appeared in the April 6, 2001, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), published by CDC.
In assessing the data, Kennedy said it's important for people to take into account the dramatically different rates of illness from site to site.
For instance, the incidence of laboratory-diagnosed campylobacteriosis ranged from 6.6 per 100,000 population in Tennessee to 38.2 in California.
"This leads us to caution in interpreting the data," Kennedy said. "Because of the variations from site to site, it's difficult to draw conclusions for the whole."
"The variations in data from site to site are both a challenge and an opportunity," said Kennedy. "It gives us an opportunity to target sites with high rates of illness and an opportunity to learn from sites with low rates."
In looking at foodborne illness trends over time, Kennedy explained that currently FoodNet only examines trends from the five original sites in order to keep the surveillance base constant.
That's because the number of sites and people under surveillance has approximately doubled since FoodNet began in 1996. In 2001, FoodNet sentinel sites cover more than 30 million people; the original 5 sentinel sites covered 14 million people.
As time goes by, the data regarding trends will be drawn from the entire population under surveillance.
The MMWR article also notes that the reasons for changes in foodborne illness are complex because foodborne pathogens are transmitted by a variety of food and nonfood routes.
For example, although foods of animal origin are the major source of Salmonella and E. coli O157: H7, transmission through fresh produce and direct contact with animals has been increasingly recognized. In assessing the data, FoodNet researchers concluded that the expanded surveillance system will be useful in monitoring progress toward our national health objectives to reduce infections from foodborne pathogens.
To read the article, go to: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5013a1.htm
New Access to Consumer Research
As educators, we're always trying to find out what people are doing-- how are
they handling food, where do they get their food safety information? Research
into consumer behavior is becoming more and more accessible via the Web. 
The U. S. Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service (ERS) has created a new Web site focusing just on consumers and food safety. This Web site--http://www.ers.usda.gov/briefing/consumerfoodsafety/-- is one of the richest sources of information concerning research into consumers and food safety behavior. It includes a variety of research reports published by ERS as well as links to other organizations and agencies and their research. As the Web site notes:
"These findings help food safety educators design and target food safety messages."
The site's "table of contents":
Also of interest for
consumer researchers: Check out the consumer research Web page produced by the
Food Safety and Inspection Service: http:// www.fsis.usda.gov/oa/research/research.htm
Here's an example of one of the fascinating pieces of information on the ERS
site: "Awareness of Risks Changing How Hamburgers Are Cooked," FoodReview,
Vol. 23, Issue 2, May 2000--
"More Americans are eating their
hamburgers more thoroughly cooked, partly due to greater awareness of the
health risks of eating undercooked meat. The change in behavior means $7.4
million lower medical costs and productivity losses annually due to E.
coli O157: H7 infection alone, as well as other foodborne
illnesses associated with rare and medium rare hamburger. " Go to: http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/foodreview/may2000/may2000g.pdf
A New Web Site for SchoolsNewly created by the National Coalition for Food Safe Schools, this portal school food safety Web site--http://www.foodsafeschools.org-- provides a one-stop gateway to a wealth of Web-based school food safety information. The site-- coming on-line in late May-- specifically targets information to a wide variety of people, including:
The National
Coalition is a group of more than 25 organizations including federal agencies
and other cooperators. Information on the Coalition can also be accessed
through the new Web site.
Food Safety at the Turn of the Century-- the 1990'sCaught up in the details of everyday life, sometimes we miss-- or forget-- the big picture.
Looking back at the past decade, there were major changes in terms of food safety-- and food safety education.
Check out this article published by the USDA's Economic Research Service: "Food Safety Efforts Accelerate in the 1990's," FoodReview, Vol. 23, Issue 3, May 2000. Starting with the 1993 E. coli O157: H7 outbreak, the article covers events including:
To read the article, go to: http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/foodreview/septdec00/
How To Keep in Touch With Food Safety Education
Information The Food Safety EducatorThis free quarterly newsletter reports on new food safety educational programs and materials as well as emerging science concerning food safety risks. It is distributed to nearly 10,000 educators throughout the country including public health offices, extension educators, industry, and consumer groups.
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