A week before Christmas 1992 Lauren Beth Rudolph ate a cheeseburger from a fast food restaurant in California On Christmas Eve suffering from severe stomach pain Lauren was admitted to the hospital There she endured three heart attacks before eventually dying on December 28 She was six years old

The burger Lauren ate was contaminated with the virulent1 bacteria E coli 0157H7 Her death was the first in an outbreak2 that caused 732 illnesses in five states and killed four children The E coli bacteria are so virulent that it takes no more than a few of them to cause deadly infection ldquoWe used to think of foodborne3 illness as little more than a stomachacherdquo says Joseph Levitt of the US governmentrsquos Food and Drug Administration ldquoAfter the [Rudolph case] we realized this was no issue of stomachaches but a serious and compelling4 public health problemrdquo Bacteria to BlameThere is more risk involved in our everyday activity of eating than you might think It is estimated that each year in the United States 76 million people suffer from foodborne diseases 325000 of them are hospitalized and 5000 die In the developing world contaminated food and water kill almost two

million children a year In most cases virulent types of bacteria are to blame

Bacteria are an integral part of a healthy life There are 200 times as many bacteria in the colon5 of a single human as there are human beings who have ever lived Most of these bacteria help with digestion making vitamins shaping the immune system and keeping us healthy Nearly all raw food too has bacteria in it But the bacteria that produce foodborne illness are of a different more virulent kindrdquo

30

35

40

A sausage-and-pepper sandwich stall in New York USA Customers at stalls like this rely on government food inspectors to make sure the food they eat is safe

Dishes contain colonies of Campylobacter a disease-causing bacteria found on retail chickens tested at the University of Arkansas USA

3A Food Safety 39

1

5

10

15

20

25

1 A virulent disease or poison is extremely powerful and dangerous

2 If there is an outbreak of something unpleasant such as violence or a disease it suddenly starts to happen

3 Foodborne bacteria enter peoplersquos bodies in the foods they eat

4 A compelling reason is one that convinces you that something is true or that something should be done

5 Your colon is part of your intestinesmdashthe tubes in your body through which food passes when it has left your stomach

How Safe Is Our Food

null

52638477

40 Unit 3 Food and Health

Many of the bacteria that produce foodborne illnesses are present in the intestines of the animals we raise for food When a food animal containing dangerous bacteria is cut open during processing bacteria inside the animal can contaminate meat Fruits and vegetables can pick up the dangerous bacteria if washed or watered with contaminated water A single bacterium given the right conditions divides rapidly enough to produce colonies of billions over the course of a day This means that even only lightly contaminated food can become highly infectious The bacteria can also hide and multiply on sponges dish towels cutting boards sinks knives and kitchen counters where theyrsquore easily transferred to food or hands

Changes in the way in which farm animals are raised are also affecting the rate at which dangerous bacteria can spread In the name of efficiency and economy fish cattle and chickens are raised in giant ldquofactoryrdquo farms which confine large numbers of animals in tight quarters Cattle for example are so crowded together under such conditions that even if only one animal is contaminated with E coli 0157H7 it will likely spread to others Tracking the SourceDisease investigators like Patricia Griffin are working to find the sources of these outbreaks and prevent them in the future Griffin of the US CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) has worked in the foodborne-disease business for 15 years Outbreaks like the incident that killed Lauren Beth Rudolph turned her attention to the public food safety threat that exists in restaurants and in the food production system Food safety is no longer just a question of handling food properly in the domestic kitchen ldquoNowrdquo Griffin says ldquowe are more aware that the responsibility does not rest solely with the cook We know

that contamination often occurs early in the production processmdashat steps on the way from farm or field or fishing ground to marketrdquo

Griffinrsquos job is to look for trends in food-related illness through analysis of outbreaks Her staff tries to identify both the food source of an outbreak and the contaminating bacteria To link cases together the scientists use a powerful tool called PulseNet a network of public health laboratories connected by computer that matches types of bacteria using DNA6 PulseNet allows epidemiologists7 to associate an illness in Nebraska say with one in Texas tying together what might otherwise appear as unrelated cases Then itrsquos the job of the investigators to track down what went wrong in the foodrsquos journey to the table This allows them to determine whether to recall8 a particular food or to change the process by which itrsquos produced

90

95

100

105

45

50

55

60

65

70

75

80

85

6 DNA is a material in living things that contains the code for their structure and many of their functions

7 Epidemiologists are scientists who study outbreaks of disease8 When sellers recall a product they ask customers to return it to them

To fight Salmonella graduate student Lisa Bielke sprays ldquohealthful bacteriardquo onto chicks in an experiment to determine if those bacteria can out-compete harmful bacteria in the chickrsquos intestines

3A Food Safety 41

110

115

120

125

130

9 Sanitary means concerned with keeping things clean and healthy 10 A flock of birds sheep or goats is a group of them

In January 2000 public health officials in Virginia noted an unusual group of patients sick with food poisoning from Salmonella Using PulseNet the CDC identified 79 patients in 13 states who suffered infection from the same type of Salmonella bacteria Fifteen had been hospitalized two had died What was the common factor All had eaten mangoes during the previous November and December The investigation led to a single large mango farm in Brazil where it was discovered that mangoes were being washed in contaminated water containing a type of Salmonella bacteria Salmonella contamination is a widespread problem and more recently other Salmonella cases have been detected In the spring of 2001 for example almonds from a farm in California infected 160 Canadians with Salmonella

The mango and almond outbreaks had a larger lesson we no longer eat only fruits and vegetables in season and that are grown locally as we once did Instead we demand our strawberries peaches mangoes and lettuce year-round As a result we are depending more

and more on imports Eating food grown elsewhere in the world means depending on the soil water and sanitary9 conditions in those places and on the way their workers farm harvest process and transport the products Reducing the RiskThere are a number of success stories that provide hope and show us how international food production need not mean increased risk of contamination Costa Rica has made sanitary production of fruits and vegetables a nationwide priority Produce is packed carefully in sanitary conditions frequent hand washing is compulsory and proper toilets are provided for workers in the fields Such changes have made Carmela Velazquez a food scientist from the University of Costa Rica optimistic about the future ldquoThe farmers wersquove trainedrdquo she says ldquowill become models for all our growersrdquo

In Sweden too progress has been made in reducing the occurrences of foodborne disease at an early stage Swedish chicken farmers have virtually eliminated Salmonella from their flocks10 by diligently cleaning up their chicken houses and by using chicken feed that has undergone heating to rid it of the dangerous bacteria Now the chickens that Swedes buy are Salmonella-free The success of these pioneers suggests that it is indeed feasible for companies and farms to produce safe and sanitary food while still turning a profit

135

140

145

150

155

160

165

A Danish egg producer fights Salmonella by running eggs under ultraviolet rays to kill surface bacteria

At a vegetable shipping facility near Cartago Costa Rica workers wear sanitary clothes and all the vegetables are washed in clean water

1. play
2. pause
3. stop

40 Unit 3 Food and Health

Many of the bacteria that produce foodborne illnesses are present in the intestines of the animals we raise for food When a food animal containing dangerous bacteria is cut open during processing bacteria inside the animal can contaminate meat Fruits and vegetables can pick up the dangerous bacteria if washed or watered with contaminated water A single bacterium given the right conditions divides rapidly enough to produce colonies of billions over the course of a day This means that even only lightly contaminated food can become highly infectious The bacteria can also hide and multiply on sponges dish towels cutting boards sinks knives and kitchen counters where theyrsquore easily transferred to food or hands

Changes in the way in which farm animals are raised are also affecting the rate at which dangerous bacteria can spread In the name of efficiency and economy fish cattle and chickens are raised in giant ldquofactoryrdquo farms which confine large numbers of animals in tight quarters Cattle for example are so crowded together under such conditions that even if only one animal is contaminated with E coli 0157H7 it will likely spread to others Tracking the SourceDisease investigators like Patricia Griffin are working to find the sources of these outbreaks and prevent them in the future Griffin of the US CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) has worked in the foodborne-disease business for 15 years Outbreaks like the incident that killed Lauren Beth Rudolph turned her attention to the public food safety threat that exists in restaurants and in the food production system Food safety is no longer just a question of handling food properly in the domestic kitchen ldquoNowrdquo Griffin says ldquowe are more aware that the responsibility does not rest solely with the cook We know

that contamination often occurs early in the production processmdashat steps on the way from farm or field or fishing ground to marketrdquo

Griffinrsquos job is to look for trends in food-related illness through analysis of outbreaks Her staff tries to identify both the food source of an outbreak and the contaminating bacteria To link cases together the scientists use a powerful tool called PulseNet a network of public health laboratories connected by computer that matches types of bacteria using DNA6 PulseNet allows epidemiologists7 to associate an illness in Nebraska say with one in Texas tying together what might otherwise appear as unrelated cases Then itrsquos the job of the investigators to track down what went wrong in the foodrsquos journey to the table This allows them to determine whether to recall8 a particular food or to change the process by which itrsquos produced

90

95

100

105

45

50

55

60

65

70

75

80

85

6 DNA is a material in living things that contains the code for their structure and many of their functions

7 Epidemiologists are scientists who study outbreaks of disease8 When sellers recall a product they ask customers to return it to them

To fight Salmonella graduate student Lisa Bielke sprays ldquohealthful bacteriardquo onto chicks in an experiment to determine if those bacteria can out-compete harmful bacteria in the chickrsquos intestines

3A Food Safety 41

110

115

120

125

130

9 Sanitary means concerned with keeping things clean and healthy 10 A flock of birds sheep or goats is a group of them

In January 2000 public health officials in Virginia noted an unusual group of patients sick with food poisoning from Salmonella Using PulseNet the CDC identified 79 patients in 13 states who suffered infection from the same type of Salmonella bacteria Fifteen had been hospitalized two had died What was the common factor All had eaten mangoes during the previous November and December The investigation led to a single large mango farm in Brazil where it was discovered that mangoes were being washed in contaminated water containing a type of Salmonella bacteria Salmonella contamination is a widespread problem and more recently other Salmonella cases have been detected In the spring of 2001 for example almonds from a farm in California infected 160 Canadians with Salmonella

The mango and almond outbreaks had a larger lesson we no longer eat only fruits and vegetables in season and that are grown locally as we once did Instead we demand our strawberries peaches mangoes and lettuce year-round As a result we are depending more

and more on imports Eating food grown elsewhere in the world means depending on the soil water and sanitary9 conditions in those places and on the way their workers farm harvest process and transport the products Reducing the RiskThere are a number of success stories that provide hope and show us how international food production need not mean increased risk of contamination Costa Rica has made sanitary production of fruits and vegetables a nationwide priority Produce is packed carefully in sanitary conditions frequent hand washing is compulsory and proper toilets are provided for workers in the fields Such changes have made Carmela Velazquez a food scientist from the University of Costa Rica optimistic about the future ldquoThe farmers wersquove trainedrdquo she says ldquowill become models for all our growersrdquo

In Sweden too progress has been made in reducing the occurrences of foodborne disease at an early stage Swedish chicken farmers have virtually eliminated Salmonella from their flocks10 by diligently cleaning up their chicken houses and by using chicken feed that has undergone heating to rid it of the dangerous bacteria Now the chickens that Swedes buy are Salmonella-free The success of these pioneers suggests that it is indeed feasible for companies and farms to produce safe and sanitary food while still turning a profit

135

140

145

150

155

160

165

A Danish egg producer fights Salmonella by running eggs under ultraviolet rays to kill surface bacteria

At a vegetable shipping facility near Cartago Costa Rica workers wear sanitary clothes and all the vegetables are washed in clean water

1. play
2. pause
3. stop

3A Food Safety 41

110

115

120

125

130

9 Sanitary means concerned with keeping things clean and healthy 10 A flock of birds sheep or goats is a group of them

In January 2000 public health officials in Virginia noted an unusual group of patients sick with food poisoning from Salmonella Using PulseNet the CDC identified 79 patients in 13 states who suffered infection from the same type of Salmonella bacteria Fifteen had been hospitalized two had died What was the common factor All had eaten mangoes during the previous November and December The investigation led to a single large mango farm in Brazil where it was discovered that mangoes were being washed in contaminated water containing a type of Salmonella bacteria Salmonella contamination is a widespread problem and more recently other Salmonella cases have been detected In the spring of 2001 for example almonds from a farm in California infected 160 Canadians with Salmonella

The mango and almond outbreaks had a larger lesson we no longer eat only fruits and vegetables in season and that are grown locally as we once did Instead we demand our strawberries peaches mangoes and lettuce year-round As a result we are depending more

and more on imports Eating food grown elsewhere in the world means depending on the soil water and sanitary9 conditions in those places and on the way their workers farm harvest process and transport the products Reducing the RiskThere are a number of success stories that provide hope and show us how international food production need not mean increased risk of contamination Costa Rica has made sanitary production of fruits and vegetables a nationwide priority Produce is packed carefully in sanitary conditions frequent hand washing is compulsory and proper toilets are provided for workers in the fields Such changes have made Carmela Velazquez a food scientist from the University of Costa Rica optimistic about the future ldquoThe farmers wersquove trainedrdquo she says ldquowill become models for all our growersrdquo

In Sweden too progress has been made in reducing the occurrences of foodborne disease at an early stage Swedish chicken farmers have virtually eliminated Salmonella from their flocks10 by diligently cleaning up their chicken houses and by using chicken feed that has undergone heating to rid it of the dangerous bacteria Now the chickens that Swedes buy are Salmonella-free The success of these pioneers suggests that it is indeed feasible for companies and farms to produce safe and sanitary food while still turning a profit

135

140

145

150

155

160

165

A Danish egg producer fights Salmonella by running eggs under ultraviolet rays to kill surface bacteria

At a vegetable shipping facility near Cartago Costa Rica workers wear sanitary clothes and all the vegetables are washed in clean water

1. play
2. pause
3. stop