The Food Safety Net:Too Many Holes?

Graphic: Cathleen Heard

It's what the government doesn't know about food that can kill you, says a federal science-policy analyst. "We do rely on Centers for Disease Control [and Prevention (CDC)] data, and the new numbers on foodborne illness are certainly something we didn't want to see," the analyst says. She is referring to a disturbing CDC report issued in September¹ that ups the ante for foodborne diseases to an estimated 76 million incidents per year--twice the number reported in a widely cited 1993 Council of Agricultural Science and Technology survey.² The CDC report, which is based on proactive monitoring programs and better detection methods, also cites 325,000 hospitalizations and 5,000 food-related deaths in the United States per year. "A large proportion of what CDC has found is attributable to unknown causes," according to the analyst, who is affiliated with a large government watchdog agency and who asked...