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A look at America’s most notorious battles with foodborne illness.

Salmonella. E. coli. Mad-cow disease. Beef, spinach, peanut butter. Every few months there's a new foodborne threat to worry about, or a grocery favorite to avoid—just last summer it was tomatoes. In a country as technologically advanced and heavily regulated as the United States, food shouldn't be so complicated. But even as consumers have become better versed in home food-safety techniques, mass production has made it easier for foodborne illnesses (and the mass hysteria that follows) to spread across the country. So, more than a century after the idea of "food poisoning" first entered the public consciousness, we're still fighting some of the same, mysterious battles to make sure that what we eat is safe. With help from Morton Satin, director of the Salt Institute and author of two books on food poisoning and safety, here's a look at how food safety has changed—and how it hasn't—over the past 120 years.

 
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  • Posted By: SharedThought @ 04/02/2009 11:25:27 AM

    In view of these incidents and the publicity relating to them, the revival of interest in home gardens in the backyard is understandable.

  • Posted By: Regatta @ 03/10/2009 1:03:37 PM

    May I ask why the 1991 Jack in the Box E.coli outbreak is not mentioned in your article? It triggered one of the most drastic clean-up of the meat industry (headed by Jack in the Box at that!) but only after dozens of very young children died as a result of contamination. I think it is a very significant event in the history of American food scares, all the more important since the same risks are still very present today. Put simply, the meat packing industry does such a poor job, and keeps such a low level of hygiene in their processing plants that there is feaces in our meat; the average American toilet is cleaner than the average sink after cooking meat. The sanitised look of what we are being sold is very misleading... something to ponder on anyway.

  • Posted By: Danestar @ 03/08/2009 1:35:50 PM

    Unfortunatly it's call "Plausible Expendability". The only way we will ever overcome the current food crisis is to reduce the current population. So the government scientist have figured that the American Food reduction is a way to make it happen. The deseased Tomatoes, Peppers, Chickens, Etc. is just a precurser to what is to come, and only the wise, the rich, and the strong will survive. Gone are the days of the generation that knew how to preserve for a seven year famine. So prepare for the worst and hope for the best, and do what YOU can to survive. Plant a Victory garden.

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