Top Food-Safety Misconceptions
Allison Van Dusen, 06.23.08, 4:00 PM ET
When you heard about the recent outbreak of infections caused by
Salmonella-tainted tomatoes, odds are you were surprised a mere
vegetable was at the heart of the scare.
But experts and data suggest Americans' trust in the safety of their
fruits and vegetables may be a little misplaced--just one of many
misconceptions people have about food safety and food-borne disease.
In Depth: Top Food-Safety Misconceptions
When it comes to foods that pose safety concerns, Americans tend to
worry the most about meat, not fresh produce. In fact, a new national
study conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health shows that, of
a representative national sample of 1,500 adults, 82% identified raw
fish or su**** and 80% rare or medium-cooked hamburgers as at least
somewhat risky. Only 36% of those surveyed found raw fruits and
vegetables to be risky.
In 2006, the Center for Science in the Public Interest reviewed its
database of food-borne-illness outbreaks, compiled by sources
including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, state health
departments and scientific journals. The group found that between 1990
and 2003, the foods most commonly linked to outbreaks with identified
causes were seafood (899) followed by produce (554), then poultry
(476), beef (438) and eggs (329).
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"Fresh fruits and vegetables have been one of, if not the most,
significant source of food-borne illness in the past decade," says
Douglas Powell, scientific director of the Food Safety Network at
Kansas State University.
Why the disconnect? People tend to think the worst of meat, in
particular, due to the number of recent high-profile recalls by the
U.S. Department of Agriculture, including a November recall of more
than 1 million pounds of Cargill Meat Solutions ground beef products,
which may have been tainted with E. coli.
Over the past couple of decades, Americans also have been digesting
news about cases of mad cow disease popping up in England, Canada and
the U.S., says Robert Blendon, professor of Health Policy and
Political Analysis at the Harvard School of Public Health.
Public food-safety campaigns also have put far more effort over the
years into raising awareness about the dangers of failing to properly
handle meat as opposed to fruits and vegetables. In addition, people
view fresh produce as wholesome and natural, not as a health threat.
"They pretty much think you wash a fruit or vegetable a little and
that's it," Blendon says.
But while wa****ng off produce is a good precaution, it won't
necessarily safeguard you from a food-borne illness. Nor will only
buying locally grown fruits and vegetables from the farmers' market,
says Powell.
How closely do you heed food-safety warnings? Weigh in. Add your
thoughts in the Reader Comments section below.
At the farm level, produce can be contaminated in a variety of ways,
including contact with untreated manure, infected or polluted water,
workers with poor hygiene habits or unclean storage or trans****tation
facilities, Powell says. While local farms may use less trans****tation
and fewer workers, the chances for contamination are still there. And
since fresh produce is, of course, uncooked, anything that comes into
contact with it can taint it. Once E. coli or Salmonella gets inside a
leafy green, tomato or sprout, it's hard to get rid of it.
While following recommended safety practices at home certainly may
help, consumers need to be vigilant about paying attention to food
recalls and removing affected foods from their homes, says Mindy
Brashears, director of the International Center for Food Industry
Excellence at Texas Tech University.
That's particularly im****tant given that some are still confused about
the role cooking can play in preventing food-borne illnesses. Though
the majority of those surveyed by the Harvard poll knew that cooking
food thoroughly would protect them against Salmonella (68%), and E.
coli (61%), 41% of respondents incorrectly believed that cooking would
protect them against botulism and 32% thought cooking could protect
them from mad cow disease.
No matter what you do, experts say you should never assume you can
completely avoid having harmful bacteria turn up on your or your
family's dinner plates.
"You can do everything you possibly can," Brashears says, "and it can
still happen to you."
In Depth: Top Food Safety Misconceptions
URL:
http://www.forbes.com/forbeslife/health/2008/06/23/prevention-food-illnesses-forbeslife-cx_avd_0623health.html?feed=rss_forbeslife_health
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