The U.S. Food and Drugs Administration proposed a new rule that requires shippers, receivers and carriers to take proper precautions to avoid food contamination during transportation.
According to a press statement, this new regulation will be the seventh and final major rule under FDA Food Safety Modernization Act that was started in 2005. The proposed rule will also be open for public comments till May, 2014.
The new regulation states that all companies that transport food through motor must meet certain sanitary transportation criteria, such as properly refrigerating food, adequately cleaning vehicles between loads and properly protecting food during transportation.
The new rule will apply to all shippers, receivers and carriers transporting food that is meant for U.S. consumption. It also applies to international carriers who will transport food to the country. According to the regulations, vehicles transporting food that is not completely enclosed need to be inspected for cleanliness before the food items are loaded.
The proposed regulation doesn't apply to carriers with less than $500,000 in total annual sales and those carrying fully packaged shelf-stable foods, live food animals, and raw agricultural commodities when transported by farms. FDA officials also confirmed that the proposed rule doesn't apply to carriers transporting food from the United States to other countries for consumption or food imported to the country only to be exported to other countries in the future. So basically, the new rule doesn't apply to shippers, receivers and carriers transporting food items that will not be consumed in the United States.
"This proposed rule will help reduce the likelihood of conditions during transportation that can lead to human or animal illness or injury," said Michael R. Taylor, the FDA's deputy commissioner for foods and veterinary medicine in a press statement. "We are now one step closer to fully implementing the comprehensive regulatory framework for prevention that will strengthen the FDA's inspection and compliance tools, modernize oversight of the nation's food safety system, and prevent foodborne illnesses before they happen."
Foodborne illnesses in the United States are on the rise. According to a CDC report, more than 48 million Americans are victims of foodborne diseases each year. Among these, 128,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 die. More than 250 pathogens and toxins are known to cause foodborne illness. Nearly all of them can cause an outbreak. Common outbreaks include Salmonella in eggs or vegetables, E. coli in beef and Listeria in dairy products.
In 2013 alone the country witnessed several foodborne illness outbreaks, the Cyclospora from salads and cilantro incident being the worst of them all. A total of 631 persons were infected though no deaths were reported. According to the CDC, the outbreak resulted from a contaminated salad mix from Taylor Farms de Mexico. Earlier in October, the U.S Department of Agriculture announced a recall of about 5,000 pounds of broccoli salad kits retailed by Taylor Farms over possible Listeria contamination.
The Salmonella infection at the Firefly restaurant in Las Vegas was another highly publicized outbreak last year. 294 people fell sick but no deaths were reported. E.coil infections are very common and the bacterium is usually harmless. However, the 0157:H7 strain can cause dehydration, bloody diarrhea and abdominal cramps. Though, in most cases, patients tend to get better on their own, severe cases of infection can lead to a near-deadly type of kidney failure known as hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS).
It has also become extremely common for manufacturers to recall food items once an outbreak occurs but by then the damage is already done. In August 2011, Cargill was forced to recall 36,000,000 pounds of fresh and frozen ground turkey products produced at the company's Springdale facility after 26 people were hospitalized for Salmonella infections. Touted to be one of the biggest E. coli O157:H7 outbreaks, 79 people fell sick after eating at Federico's Mexican Restaurant in Litchfield Park, Arizona between July and August. In August, National Beef Packing Co. voluntarily recalled 50,000 pounds of ground beef for fear of E. coli contamination. Previous to that the same company recalled 22,000 pounds of meat over another possible E. coli contamination.
In December last year, the CDC released new findings and initiatives to prevent food borne illnesses reported every year in the country. The administrating body found many loop holes in current education of restaurant workers as well as public health surveillance.
Statistics reveal that of the 457 outbreaks reported in 2006 and 2007, 300, or 66 percent were restaurant associated. Of those, 98 percent, or 295, had at least one reported contributing factor, that is, a food safety violation that may have contributed to the outbreak. Of the 257 outbreaks with one single contributing factor, 64 percent were associated with food worker health and hygiene. Thirty-four percent were associated with food preparation practices, and 22 percent were associated with food that was contaminated before it reached the establishment.
