With Food Safety, it Seems There are No Guarantees
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Today the New York Times reported that certain processed food manufacturers are unable to guarantee the safety of ingredients used in their products. In 2007, when approximately 15,000 people were afflicted with salmonella by frozen pot pies, inspectors could not determine which ingredient was contaminated. This led ConAgra Foods, the pot pie maker, to put the responsibility on the consumer through food safety directions that instruct the preparer to use a food thermometer to ensure the center of the pie reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Some companies do not even know where their ingredients are coming from and if the companies supplying the ingredients are testing for potential contamination.
Yet the supply chain for ingredients in processed foods — from flavorings to flour to fruits and vegetables — is becoming more complex and global as the drive to keep food costs down intensifies. As a result, almost every element, not just red meat and poultry, is now a potential carrier of pathogens, government and industry officials concede.
In addition, companies, like General Mills, are advising consumers to use only conventional ovens when cooking their frozen products. Federal regulators have urged companies to provide "detailed food safety guides" with their cooking instructions.
However, some food safety experts do not believe consumers should be ultimately responsible for preventing food-borne illnesses.
Dr. Michael T. Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, said companies like ConAgra were asking too much. “I do not believe that it is fair to put this responsibility on the back of the consumer, when there is substantial confusion about what it means to prepare that product,” Dr. Osterholm said.
In an effort to cut costs, food companies have subcontracted processing work by having smaller companies prepare certain flavor mixes and dough that the larger manufacturer then assembles. This has made it more difficult to trace back where ingredients have come from and where the possible contaminations may have started. For example, with the outbreak of salmonella from ConAgra pot pies, health officials were never able to pinpoint the source of the outbreak. But, investigators sent to the ConAgra plant focused on vegetables because ConAgra had received vegetable shipments from Latin America without testing them for pathogens or requiring their supplier to test them.
Since then, ConAgra has revamped their safety standards and now tests for microbes in all of the pot pie ingredients. In addition, ConAgra's pot pies (sold under the Banquet name) have very explicit food safety and preparation instructions.
But, attempts made to get the pot pies to the requisite 165 degrees were not easy. Many parts of the insides of the pie only heated to 140 degrees while portions of the crust were burning.
Other frozen food companies are also taking steps to increase food safety. Amy's Kitchen precooks its ingredients in an attempt to kill pathogens.
The food supply and distribution chains have become such a vast, global effort that it seems unbelievable that there are not more outbreaks around the world. Because these corporate giants cannot guarantee contamination-free ingredients, it is imperative that you as the consumer take responsibility for your own safety. Read the cooking instructions carefully. Understand the wattage of your microwave and when you can, use your conventional oven to cook these products.