Food Safety
Attorney
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As President, Barack Obama has a lot of challenging issues to deal with – I am sure he never thought peanut butter would be one of the issues.
"When I heard peanut products were being contaminated earlier this year, I immediately thought of my seven-year-old daughter Sasha, who has peanut butter sandwiches for lunch probably three times a week," he told the nation in one of his weekly addresses from the White House. "No parent should have to worry that their child is going to get sick from their lunch."
In the 1990’s the average number of disease outbreaks due to food contamination were 100. It has risen to 350 yearly. Due to these troubling numbers, Mr. Obama is setting up a working group on food safety comprised of cabinet secretaries and senior officials. He has also promised to address America’s “underfunded and understaffed” Food and Drug Administration.
By last month nine people had died as a result of tainted peanut butter made by Peanut Corporation of America, who has now filed for bankruptcy. Another peanut scare, resulting in a US pistachio recall a few weeks ago, was also due to salmonella being found.
Globalization of the food chain, due to food grown in one part of the world but processed and consumed in others, means a food scare in one country can be felt in other countries as well.
Sourcing ingredients from around the world also makes it "more complex" to manage the food supply chain, says Jean Spence, vice-president for research, development and quality at Kraft Foods. "There are lots of different standards around the world, which makes it challenging when you work with suppliers." Of Kraft's 168 manufacturing plants, 110 are located outside the US - in some 45 countries.”
Ultimately it is the consumer who needs to apply the pressure to the government and companies to improve safety standards, especially since it is the consumer who it effects the most. Without food safety improvements, these salmonella outbreaks will continue and we will see more deaths as a result.