Have a Happy (And Safe) Thanksgiving

By Ricardo Carvajal –

It’s the time of year for holiday food safety alerts.  The home kitchen has long been recognized as a significant source of foodborne illness.  Reliable data are hard to come by, but a recent survey and study suggest that consumer awareness and implementation of basic food safety measures continues to lag. 

It’s not clear what proportion of the public health toll exacted by foodborne illness is attributable to consumer mishandling – or, for that matter, what that toll is.  Although the statistics of 5,000 deaths and 325,000 hospitalizations are widely cited in the press, in blogs maintained by personal injury lawyers,  in government reports, and even in food safety legislation pending in Congress, some have openly questioned the accuracy of those statistics.  The need for updated statistics has been recognized by FDA, which has held public workshops on the subject of how to measure progress in food safety, and updated estimates from CDC are said to be on the way.  In the meantime, don’t pass up your chance to display your food safety savvy.