Issue 258 - The $152 Billion Wake Up Call for Food Safety

My readership knows I try to stay out of politics but we've been preaching to take care of your recall exposure before your forced too by the Government. Well it looks like the perfect storm is brewing where health care meets foodborne illness. Everyone in the food industry knows that increased regulation is just one disaster away. With everyone watching their pennies these days $152 billion in foodborne illness expenses yearly might just be the disaster that forces the government to take action. If you think the current recession is bad "you ain't seen nothing yet !!!!"

"My hope... is that the sobering numbers of this report will compel the Senate to act immediately on food safety legislation," said Rep. Rosa DeLauro, who has vigorously pushed for food safety reform. "We literally can not afford to wait."

Reuters) - Foodborne illnesses cost the United States $152 billion in health-related expenses each year.

"Past official government estimates of health-related costs of foodborne illness have ranged from $7 billion to as much as $35 billion, but they considered only limited costs and pathogens, according to the report.
The new study, an initiative of the Pew Charitable Trusts and Georgetown University, considered a total of 27 known pathogens --such as salmonella and listeria -- and looked at more health-related costs, pushing the price tag to $152 billion."

The USDA school lunch overhaul is one example of legislation following 'disaster'. As reported at Meatingplace.com

While the Agricultural Marketing Service has launched a review of all of its commodities purchasing programs, Craig Morris deputy administrator of the AMS's Livestock and Seed Program said ground beef "is clearly on the fast track." He noted that the ground beef purchase program "has been the subject of considerable media, Congressional and recipient scrutiny over the last couple months."

That media scrutiny came on the hard on the heels of school lunch related recalls.

Reuters reports that the latest study to delve into foodborne illnesses comes as Congress works to craft legislation that would mark the first major overhaul of the food safety system in 50 years.

The House passed its bill last July and the Senate, which has been bogged down with health care and regulatory reform, is expected to act this year.
The goal is to bring the food safety bill to a Senate vote around the Easter break and get it to President Obama by May, said Senator Tom Harkin on Tuesday during a hearing on agricultural appropriations. Harkin is the head of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, which unanimously approved a food safety bill in November.

This is one of the key tipping points the food industry should be keeping an eye on, while the $2 trillion plus topic of Healthcare currently has the government's attention $152 billion isn't chump change. In fact according this study, a fair sized percentage of the $2 trillion dollars might be "blamed" on food borne illnesses.

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