<== Site of the Week for 2009-11-02 ==>
US Food Safety Blog
Looks can be deceiving. Food poisoning is often transmitted through cross contamination. Food can look perfectly fine while still carrying a variety of diseases.
One cannot depend on the look and smell of food alone. Protecting the food supply requires good science and information.
The US Food Safety Blog is a site working on the information side of the process. The site has blog posts concerning the safety of the American food supply and offers email alerts to people wishing to keep a closer eye on the food they eat.
The primary media only reports on food issues when there is a good story to sell. The media is deceiving. For example, back when food poisoning was more common, the press did not report it, because it was common. Today, they might run a report on a spectacular case of food poisoning, but will skip all of the little details needed by people working to keep their food safe.
One problem with the schizophrenic approach of the media to covering food issues is that it creates a climate of fear among food producers and regulators that keeps them from reporting on food issues. There will always be recalls. The media system either has recalls going under the public radar, or they launch the public into full panic mode. As such, the system fails to warn the public adequately about many potentially dangerous contaminations. For example, the blog is following a recall of beef with e coli that may have gone under reported. The FDA appears to have missed the critical window on informing the public on this particular contamination.
Sites like US Food Safety, have a lot to offer as they are able to develop a balanced and consistent approach to the subject. After all, it is by making safety a balanced and concerted effort that American food providers are able to provide a stream of food that is much better than the fare of the past.
