How Safe is Our Food Supply

By John Kinsella, CMC, CCE, WGMC, AAC

Every year, more than 9,000 U.S. citizens die from eating contaminated food, and more than a million suffer from food poisoning. Nancy Donley, a founder of STOP (Safe Tables Our Priority), said in a speech at the 1998 STOP conference that there are more people dying from foodborne illnesses than ever before.

To this day, when I read Nancy's speech, tears come to my eyes. She talks not only about her son, Alex, age 6, who died from eating contaminated food, but also Janis Sowerby's son, Scott, age 3; Robert Metz's 88-year-old mother, who was in excellent health until she ate a contaminated hamburger; Laura Day, 18, who died from hemolytic uremic syndrome; and Laurie Girand's 3-year-old daughter, who was near death after drinking O157-contaminated apple juice.

As chefs and cooks, we are more vulnerable today than ever before. No longer can we ignore any step, from the receiving process to the cooking process.

One of the main reasons for an increase in foodborne illness is that large cuts have been made in USDA inspection programs since 1981. So, the real issue now is, how do we get back to the days of reliable food-source suppliers? I have come to the conclusion that it is the foods arriving in our establishments that are compromised, not by local suppliers, but at the actual processing source. The problem, as I see it, is that animal feces not only contaminate meats, but also vegetables, fruits and even canned goods.

We all know that the freezer will not kill E. coli, or any of the welchi family of bacteria. We use the byproducts of animals for fertilizing our gardens and vegetables, so the potential for these viruses and bacteria being a threat to our food supply is real. "Downers," animals too sick or injured to move, are put down and turned into feed for the next generation of animals. And chicken byproducts are turned into chicken feed. The fact is, our food sources are compromised because of inadequate or flimsy inspections and the misuse of byproducts at the processing source.

As culinarians, we are trained in the proper storage and production of foods in our kitchens, and we enforce personal-hygiene rules for our employees. This used to be enough, but we have to be more vigilant. Here are some simple safety tips to follow, paraphrased from The HACCP Food Safety Manual by Joan Loken.

To minimize consumer risk of illness and injury from food consumed in a foodservice establishment:

• Re-determine your reliable sources regularly, and have a rigid receiving policy that includes temperature and bacterial testing, as well as packaging and date inspection.
• Cook and prepare foods to USDA temperatures, and follow holding temperatures.
• Write liability disclaimers on menus warning customers of the dangers of serving underdone meats, fish and all other foods, as well as foods served warm or at room temperature.
• If you serve raw meat, fish or poultry, make sure it is properly cured.
• Use pasteurized products.

As chefs we must get actively involved in the education of all consumers, and we must band together to make our food sources safe. This is not an issue that we can put aside, but, rather, the most important issue that must be addressed if we are to have safe foods supplied to our kitchens.

Safe cooking to you all.