Food Safety

Food Safety

Last year, in State College, Chipotle was closed for several days so the entire facility could be cleaned. Throughout the country, Chipotle was temporarily closing many of its branches for similar cleanings. There were reports of E. coli contamination and to prevent more people from getting sick, they started proactive cleaning. This type of contamination, whether it's E. coli, or salmonella, or botulism toxin, happens often and has many detrimental effects. 

Every year in the United States 5,000 people die from food borne illnesses, and a total of 76 million get sick. 

Consumer Confidence

Every outbreak, recall or illness further depletes consumer confidence. Wary shoppers shy away from potentially contaminated foods, even after everything is deemed safe. Chipotle's consumer confidence rating fell from a confident 9 to a negative 12.5 after the E. coli cases. The company is now trying to bounce back, but once consumer confidence is lost, the rebuild can be slow.  The company has tried to be transparent, and detail to the public how they are going about improving the safety of their production. 

Every food borne illness thats publicized turns consumers off from that brand, or store or producer. If you know that a specific brand of food was not monitored closely enough or double checked, why would you buy it? Why would you trust that they are going to do better after they get in trouble?

Cost 

Consumer confidence is directly related to cost. The loss of consumer confidence means the loss of sales, which effects everyone from the production through the distribution, and packaging. It hurts the companies significantly, and as they are trying to fix the problems at hand, they are losing money. 

Food Safety Regulations and FSMA

Most likely, you've heard of a recall of some food item on the news. Normally, you don't pay too much attention to them unless you just bought the item in question. When companies learn about a potential contamination, they can choose to recall the items themselves. Once the FDA finds out about the contamination, the FDA can ask the company to recall the item. If the company refuses, the FDA can demand that they item is recalled. This last part is new, under the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). 

Recalls aren't the only part of food regulation. There are preventative measures in place so that contaminated food doesn't make it out to the public, with the implementation of FSMA, the amount of preventative measures grew. Through the use of quality control systems and preventative process control. One such program, is Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP). These are developed by individual companies and check the food products after their most susceptible points, to make sure their isn't contamination. Along with controls in place through the company, there are FDA inspections, though they don't happen very often. There are produce standards, and required access for the FDA to any companies records. In regards to imported food, FSMA increases the FDA's ability to control and monitor imported foods. If the FDA thinks that a food may be contaminated, they have the ability to detain that food product until it is inspected, if its found safe it can be sold. On the times that food gets through the monitoring system and is released to the public the USDA and the FDA can suggest and force recalls. 

FDA and USDA

A total of twelve government organizations regulate food safety. The USDA focuses mainly on meat and poultry, the FDA covers all other foods. The FDA is underfunded and as a result understaffed, which results in more outbreaks. 

The FSMA was put in place to rectify some the the issues with the FDA being so overwhelmed. With increased funding, their can be more inspections and more care put into prevention. 

Sources:

https://cspinet.org/sites/default/files/attachment/fswhitepaper.pdf

https://www.fda.gov/downloads/Food/FoodSafety/FSMA/UCM265430.pdf

https://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2015/12/14/can-chipotle-mexican-grill-recover-from-the-e-coli-outbreak-impact/#442dbbe14070

http://familymedicineoldsaybrook.com/3414/e-coli-foodborne-illness

Diet & Health

Diet & Health

We hear so much about different fad diets, gluten-free, Weight Watchers, we see Lean Cuisines in the aisles of grocery markets- it’s hard to know what to listen to! Unfortunately, the growing data on diet & health in the US is showing us that we have a lot more to consider than restricting calories and temporary diets; we have to make some serious changes regarding our food choices, eating patterns, and lifestyle choices overall. How do we start this? Fortunately, Dietary Guidelines for Americans is reviewed, updated, and published every five years in order to help answer some of our questions on the matter!

Who needs to change the diet & health?

In the US, the most recent data tell us that 72 percent of men and 64 percent of women are overweight or obese, with about one-third of adults being obese. However, even for those who are not obese, poor diet and physical inactivity are associated with major causes of morbidity and mortality.

Our eating patterns are different from that of other cultures, as Americans. Although there is no single “American” or “Western” eating pattern, average American eating patterns currently don’t come close to these dietary recommendations. Americans eat too many calories and too much solid fat, added sugars, refined grains, and sodium. Americans also consume too little potassium; dietary fiber; calcium; vitamin D; unsaturated fatty acids from oils, nuts, and seafood; and other important nutrients. These nutrients are mostly found in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and low-fat milk and milk products.

What is the problem?

Americans are having no issues consuming calorie-dense foods and beverages, but are lacking in the nutrient-dense food and beverage area.

Because people consume a variety of foods and beverages throughout the day as meals and snacks, a growing body of research has begun to describe overall eating patterns that help promote calorie balance and weight management

*A dietary pattern low in calorie density is characterized by a relatively high intake of vegetables, fruit, and dietary fiber and a relatively low intake of total fat, saturated fat, and added sugars*

For this, we are encouraged to increase our awareness of what, when, why, and how much we eat, deliberately making better choices regarding what and how much we consume, and go out of our way to become more active.

Major recommendations touching on the major issues from all categories:

·       increase intake of whole grains, vegetables, and fruits:

·       reduce intake of sugar-sweetened beverages:

·       Monitor intake of 100% fruit juice for children and adolescents, especially those who are overweight or obese:

·       Monitor calorie intake from alcoholic beverages for adults

Also, an issue with food safety, and thus we are recommended to practice mindfulness in terms of:

·       clean hands, food contact surfaces, and vegetables and fruits.

·       separate raw, cooked, and ready-to-eat foods while shopping, storing, and preparing foods.

·       cook foods to a safe temperature.

·       chill (refrigerate) perishable foods promptly.

·        

Where are these problems coming from?

Here, in our environments in the US, a number of factors are contributing to both are dietary issues and thus our health issues overall. This creates an overall calorie-imbalance. We know that our food environment plays a vital role, as studies examining the relationship between the food environment and BMI have found that communities with a larger number of fast food or quick-service restaurants tend to have higher BMIs. Overall, choices are often limited by what is available in a person’s environment, including stores, restaurants, schools, and worksites. Moreover, our portion sizes have increased dramatically. Naturally, research has shown that when larger portion sizes are served, people tend to consume more calories.

That’s only half of the equation, though…

Environment affects both sides of the calorie balance equation—it can promote overconsumption of calories and discourage physical activity and calorie expenditure.

On the other side of the calorie balance equation, many Americans spend most of their waking hours engaged in sedentary behaviors. In these environments, it’s very difficult to expend enough calories to maintain calorie balance. Many home, school, work, and community environments do not facilitate a physically active lifestyle. One example of this outside of the office can be seen from the lack of sidewalks or parks and concerns for safety when outdoors. This decreases our ability to get physically active. Also, over the past several decades, transportation and technological advances have meant that people now expend fewer calories to perform tasks of everyday life.

When did these problems start to occur?

Although the problem has been growing, it seems in 2007-2008 we really began to take notice.

Why do we care?

            Not only is obesity linked to high mortality rates itself, but there are a number of other chronic illnesses stemming from a poor diet, separate from weight itself. Without having a proper diet and getting in all of the nutrients we need, we put ourselves at risk for many other problems.

Overall, we’re encouraged to

·      Limit calorie intake to the amount needed to attain or maintain a healthy weight for adults, and for appropriate weight gain in children and adolescents.

·      Consume foods from all food groups in nutrientdense forms and in recommended amounts.

·      Reduce intake of solid fats (major sources of saturated and trans fatty acids).

·      Replace solid fats with oils (major sources of polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fatty acids) when possible. Reduce intake of added sugars.

·      Reduce intake of refined grains and replace some refined grains with whole grains.

·      Reduce intake of sodium (major component of salt).

·      If consumed, limit alcohol intake to moderate levels.

·      Increase intake of vegetables and fruits. Increase intake of whole grains.

·      Increase intake of milk and milk products and replace whole milk and full-fat milk products with fat-free or low-fat choices to reduce solid fat intake.

·      Increase seafood intake

I think we’re starting to take some steps in the right direction, quite literally whatwith our new trend for FitBit competitions and instagramming our food! A lot of these new fads are seen as “basic”, but they’re definitely increasing our awareness of our activity levels and what we are putting into our body! Moreover, a lot of these problems probably stem from our desire to always be efficient, get things done faster, etc. If I’ve learned anything from the recent data, while it may be faster to take the bus or elevator, it may be worth going out of our way to be less efficient and take the long way home from class, or take the stairs if it means prolonging our lives!

Sources

U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010. 7th Edition, Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, March, 2017.