Food Safety and the food sector of the United States is ever changing. At the center, is the United States Department of Agriculture or more commonly called the USDA. Under the USDA's control, the Food Safety is controlled by two departments; food processing and food distribution. The USDA has many jobs in making sure that the food we eat is the best quality possible through inspecting imports, exports, conducting risk assessments and educating the general public. The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) will ensure that the nation's meat, poultry and processed egg supply is wholesome, safe and properly labeled. (USDA)
USDA continues to protect consumers from the dangers of E. coli contamination by adopting of a zero tolerance policy for six additional strains [E. coli O26, O45, O103, O111, O121, and O145] of the pathogen in raw beef products. (USDA) Prohibiting them just like to E. coli O157:H7. (USDA) By having more strict policies the estimated 25,000 cases of food borne illnesses is prevented through these measures. Implementation of a "test and hold" policy in December 2012 prevents the
recall of unsafe foods. (USDA) Facilities are now required to hold product
until microbiological testing can determine it is safe to release meat,
poultry and egg products into commerce. (USDA) This will dramatically lower the outbreaks of sickness in consumers. USDA continues to enhance the Public Health Information System,
a modernized, comprehensive database that allows the agency to identify
public health trends and food safety violations more effectively at the
nearly 6,200 plants where the Food Safety and Inspection Service
ensures the wholesomeness of the products produced. (USDA)
Operation of the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline, the USDA Food Safety Discovery Zone traveling exhibit and the FSIS Web-based virtual representative Ask Karen are key components of USDA's consumer education programs. (USDA) The Hotline responded to over 80,000 inquiries (calls, webmail and chats) in fiscal year 2013, Ask Karen
views totaled more than 2.35 million. (USDA) In that time, USDA Food Safety
Discovery Zone outreach events in the national capital region exposed
approximately 619,539 consumers to food safety messages. (USDA) The USDA is also a major contributor of consumer food safety to the content presented on the website, FoodSafety.gov. (USDA) To further engage consumers about the importance of food safety at home, USDA teamed with the Ad Council to develop the Food Safe Families campaign,
a national, multi-media food safety public education campaign to
prevent cross-contamination and to ensure proper cooking and chilling. (USDA) The campaign is developed in English and Spanish to reach a broader group of people. The campaign motivates
consumers to take four simple steps--clean, separate, cook and
chill--to protect themselves and their families from foodborne illness. (USDA) Food Safe Families is entering its fourth year and has been seen or heard by more than 1 billion since its June 2011 launch. (USDA)
At USDA, prevention is the anchor, and science is the basis of every food safety decision made. (USDA) Our scientists in FSIS, Agriculture Research Service (ARS), and in other agencies inform our approach to food safety. (USDA) USDA conducts and funds food safety research to generate real-world results for both government and the private sector. (USDA) The department is particularly proud of recent work that patented new technology that protects pasteurized liquid eggs, examined the safety of beef trim imports and efforts that led to the publication of the first draft genomes of six dangerous non-O157 strains of E. coli. (USDA)
The importance of the USDA is critical to being protected against food borne illnesses. The department is the first line of defense in preventing issues that are cause by disease or infections in the consumer products that are a result of animal processing. Without the USDA, the safety of food in the United States would not be up to par and it would ulimately, raise health care costs and eventually kill a portion of the people infected with the food borne abnormalities.
At USDA, prevention is the anchor, and science is the basis of every food safety decision made. (USDA) Our scientists in FSIS, Agriculture Research Service (ARS), and in other agencies inform our approach to food safety. (USDA) USDA conducts and funds food safety research to generate real-world results for both government and the private sector. (USDA) The department is particularly proud of recent work that patented new technology that protects pasteurized liquid eggs, examined the safety of beef trim imports and efforts that led to the publication of the first draft genomes of six dangerous non-O157 strains of E. coli. (USDA)
The importance of the USDA is critical to being protected against food borne illnesses. The department is the first line of defense in preventing issues that are cause by disease or infections in the consumer products that are a result of animal processing. Without the USDA, the safety of food in the United States would not be up to par and it would ulimately, raise health care costs and eventually kill a portion of the people infected with the food borne abnormalities.
Reference
Food Safety. USDA. (n.d.). Retrieved February 18, 2016, from http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal
/usda/usdahome?navid=food-safety
Andrew, I think that this is a great topic of choice because of how important it is right now. I believe that right now in the U.S, food safety is a big issue because of all of the food-borne illnesses that have been occurring. I think that this is all great information regarding the USDA and the importance of it as well. I believe it is extremely necessary for the USDA to regulate our food before we consume it because of the high chances of food-borne illnesses that could occur. I also agree with your statement that if the USDA was not regulating our food that we are consuming, then many americans could die from these diseases that certain foods cause people to have. Thank you for this information, I think that it is all great and helpful on the importance of the USDA and food-borne illnesses.
ReplyDeleteI took microbiology awhile ago, but I have seem to have forgiven that there are six different forms of E. coli. Very interesting! It can almost be found anyway. I am glad the USDA works so hard for the United States to stay healthy. If there is information led to believe there is food-borne illness the USDA will analysis it and place it upon recall to prevent others from having to experience the pain. Great post, I enjoy the nature looking theme you choose for food safety.
ReplyDeleteYou did a great job of explaining what the USDA does to help the United States safe from food-borne diseases. Many people do not think about these people, but we all should thank them because without them, we would all be sick due to the different diseases. I like that they have multiple strict policies so that they can protect us from future illness and disease outbreaks. Great job!
ReplyDeleteFood safety should always be the number one priority. I took health citizenship last semester and thats all we learned about is food safety and health conditions. The USDA takes a big responsibility of taking care of our food and making sure its cleaned properly from causing E.coli or worse. Things like this need to be more secure and well looked at.
ReplyDeleteI like the background. This article makes me think of science and a previous course I took, Microbiology. I like how you gave a lot of information and presented it. Very informative because I forgot about some of this information and I can use this blog to come back for any information I want to get a refresher on. Great topic. Great blog.
ReplyDeleteGreat blog. It made me aware of how it is important for our food to be taken care and if not how we could be affected about e.coli. This very informative blog because it made me aware of a lot of stuff that I did not know. More people should be aware of this and how USDA take in responsibility of keep our food clean.
ReplyDeleteThank you for all of this great information. the food industry has come a long way in the standards they enforce for our safety. Even with all the high standards we are still at risk, but luckily we can avoid most of it as long as we are educated. Thank you for a great post.
ReplyDeletei really enjoyed the information that was given. Its really important to know about food safety
ReplyDeleteI think that this is great and important information regarding the USDA. It is extremely necessary for the USDA to regulate our food before we consume them and they need to be monitoring how it's processed. The problem is because of the high chances of food-borne illnesses that could occur, so prevention and early detection is vital.
ReplyDelete