Leafy greens, eggs and tuna top the list of the ten riskiest foods regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) according to a new study recently released by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI). Their study found that ten common foods account for nearly 40% of all reported foodborne outbreaks in the USA. The foods, in descending order, are: leafy greens, eggs, tuna, oysters, potatoes, cheese, ice cream, tomatoes, sprouts and berries.
More than 1,500 separate, definable outbreaks were associated with these ten common foods, causing nearly 50,000 reported illnesses according to the CSPI study.
In the USA, the FDA is responsible for regulating produce, seafood, egg and dairy products, as well as packaged foods such as cookie dough and peanut butter—nearly 80% of the food supply. The non-profit CSPI says the presence of so many healthy foods on their list is why the United States Senate should update food safety laws.
"Outbreaks give the best evidence of where and when the food safety system is failing to protect the public," said CSPI staff attorney Sarah Klein, the lead author of the report. "It is clearly time for FDA's reliance on industry self-regulation to come to an end. The absence of safety plans or frequent inspections unfortunately means that some of our favorite and most healthful foods also top the list of the most risky."
The FDA does not currently require farms and processors to have written food safety plans, nor does it provide specific safety standards for even the largest growers to meet.
The CSPI report has been widely criticized by the Western Growers Association, Blue Water Fisherman Association, the American Blue Fin Tuna Association and the National Milk Producers Federation.
Via: CSPI
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