Privateering & salmonella-tainted eggs

Katherine Hobson of the Wall Street Journal reports today “the same strain of salmonella linked to the recall of 550-million-plus eggs has been found at facilities of one of the farms suspected as being the hub of the outbreak.” As the WSJ reports, after taking more than 600 samples at the farms, FDA investigators say they’ve found contamination at facilities at Wright County Egg, including tainted chicken feed at a facility that supplies chickens to the other farm, Hillandale Farms of Iowa. FDA officials said, however, that it is still unclear whether the feed is the actual source of the outbreak. Wright County Egg said in a statement that the finding is “of great concern to us” and that once it is permitted to ship eggs again, it will sell only those produced by hens vaccinated against salmonella.

The Food and Drug Administration has announced massive recalls of the salmonella-tainted eggs. How did the problem get to this point? The New York Times reported on 8/25 that the FDA had considered mandating the vaccination of chickens with anti-bacterial shots – and decided against it. Instead, the vaccinations are merely recommended. In Britain, where such vaccinations have been required for egg vendors who wish to put an industry-standard label on their eggs, the incidence of salmonella in eggs has dropped 96 percent. [“The many sins of deregulation” by Harold Meyerson, The Washington Post, August 26, 2010]

The FDA has been underfunded and has a lack of inspectors and trained personnel because of budget shortfalls. The Waxman committee in 2006 estimated that year’s shortfall at $135 million. The result is that food safety regulation falls to private corporations. In 2006, the FDA had learned of a Salmonella outbreak at ConAgra’s Georgia peanut operation and told ConAgra that it was depending upon the company to address it. The company did not. The FDA received complaints of E. Coli at spinach producers in the Salinas Valley before 3 deaths occurred and had sent alerts to the producers who did not address the problem. Moreover, when food imports increased from China and other countries, no inspectors for food safety were hired. The Bush administration and Republicans in Congress resisted the call for even labeling country of origin on foods sold in the USA.

Why do food crises like these keep recurring? In the US faith in deregulation still lingers, if the FDA’s reluctance to require the vaccinations is any evidence. The FDA, for example, cannot mandate a recall of diseased food; it can do no more than try to persuade the responsible company to recall the product on its own. The repeated food crises illustrate a conservative philosophy toward governemtn that cognitive scientist George Lakoff calls “privateering. ["The Political Mind” by George Lakoff] Conservative dominance in government has resulted in funding cuts for FDA inspectors making it impossible for the agency to engage in its moral mission of protecting the country’s food supply. That responsibility has fallen to private corporations whose primary mission is profit not public protection. Inevitably, profits win out. Food producers ignore warnings for the sake of profit. Food importers do not spend the needed money to monitor food imports. Not until enough people and or pets die does the problem come to light. Even then, every crisis is treated as an aberration not as the systemic predictable failure resulting from deregulation of private corporations.

A new food-safety bill, which would give the FDA the power of mandatory recall and would otherwise strengthen food-safety regulation, has passed the House but is stalled in the Senate. We should contact our Senators and let them know we want the bill passed.

Just a reminder: make sure you cook your eggs well, ya’ll. Better to be safe than sorry.

The problem with over regulation was apparent in the early 80’s. But the government solution was to throw the baby out with the bathwater. (Thanks to Reagan) Our population has grown by several millions in the last couple of decades, and the number of people involved in regulating the food supply hasn’t grown with the population increase, it has been reduced to the point that a food recall is almost weekly news because there simply isn’t enough inspectors to do the job. As for private inspection, it can’t happen unless you really think that the people doing the inspection (being paid by the inspected) will risk their pay check by blowing the whistle. I suppose it could happen, but you have a lot more faith in human nature than I do. It’s bad enough when the government watchdogs are bought off by the people their supposed to be checking. Independant organizations could solve the problem, but the notion of “independent” is almost laughable.

Dear Mr. Dakat [He used my real name, of course]:

    Thank you for contacting me regarding S. 510, the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act.

    This legislation would expand the authority of the Secretary of Health and Human Services to regulate food safety by more aggressively inspecting food production facilities and tracking food more closely as it moves through the stream of commerce.  Incidents involving tainted tomatoes, spinach, and peanut butter are just a few of the recent examples that demonstrate the need for a more robust food safety inspection system.  The bill would not modify the current jurisdictional boundaries between the Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

    S. 510 passed the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) last year and is now awaiting a vote in the full Senate.  I will keep your views in mind as the Senate considers this legislation.  

    I appreciate your taking the time to share your views on this issue.  Please do not hesitate to contact me again in the future.

                                                    Sincerely,
                                                    Senator Bill Nelson