Safe food from a consumer perspective

Food-safety experts believe that contaminated food causes up to 76 million illnesses, 325,000 hospitalizations and 5000 deaths each year in the US alone. These estimates underline the fact that foodborne-illnesses pose a significant public-health burden. CSPI recommends strengthening the safety of the food supply by setting farm and animal production food-safety standards, by improving Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) implementation, especially by the US Food and Drug Administration, and finally, by streamlining food-safety policy and regulation. Having several federal agencies with distinct responsibilities for food safety regulation has resulted in inconsistent food safety standards. The US regulatory structure is fragmented and not well equipped to meet current challenges facing the food-safety system. Instead, CSPI calls for a single food safety agency that maximizes allocation of resources resulting in a more rational system of food safety regulation. Legislation establishing a single, independent food-safety agency has been pending in the US Congress since 1997