In years past the practice in the US was to require a health certificate to work in the food industry. While on the surface this sounds like something to consider, the use of medical evaluation of food workers was often done without specific tests, medical personnel relying on medical history and a physical exam. Without specific
December 2008
Public Health and Food Safety Policy in the Obama Administration
By Roy Costa on
Posted in Food Safety
Public health policy and food protection are issues that we expect the new Obama administration to address eagerly. Financial problems, wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and Home Land Security have shifted focus away from our core public health agenda, and now is the time to return our focus. Everyone agrees that public health programs have suffered in the last eight…
Scomboid Poisoning is so Obvious
By Roy Costa on
Posted in Food Safety
This outbreak is an example of scombroid poisoning. Scombroid enterotoxin is actually a heat stable bi-product of histamine, and results when dark-fleshed fish begin to decompose. Its one of the few illnesses through food that have a correlation directly to spoilage although there may be others (certain strains of C botulinum). Because the symptoms…
Do Not End Food Safety Self Regulation
By Roy Costa on
Posted in Food Safety
In a recent message to its members, Food and Water Watch says:
“Protecting Our Food: End Food Industry Self-Policing”. Consumers need strong standards and strong enforcement by government inspectors. The USDA must abandon attempts to let meat plants do their own inspections. The Food and Drug Administration needs new authority and resources to…