Whether it is E. coli with beef, salmonella with chicken, now various poisonings reported in produce, we simply do not know where the next food poisoning scare is going to come from. There have also been canned food concerns along the way. I remember a peanut butter recall. I get particularly troubled on "food recalls." I'm thankful that they announce them, but I also know, food should not be compared to faulty machines. A recall on a vehicle, although it's assumed there has been a tragedy, is something that is easily identified and manageable as soon as it's reported. Food, on the other hand is not.
Just the fact that there are food recalls, tells me, we may not know about all of them. When buying a vehicle, appliance or a power tool, I realize there may be a problem in assembly, a faulty mechanism or just flat, every so often, a lemon; but food should be a different matter. Bad food, cannot be "repaired" or replaced so easily.
What this really has me wondering, since food poisoning is becoming so common place; is this. How many people are feeling achy or tired or nauseous, have a headache or a myriad of symptoms, but don't realize they've ingested something that was carrying some sort of bacteria? How many of these newly named syndromes and obscure symptoms could be caused by bad food or bad policy concerning the food. There are so many laws for organic farmers raising and selling food, but so few reports of illness caused by independent small ag. Perhaps the legislation being passed isn't really addressing the root of the problems at hand.
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