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E. coli O157:H7 is back. Again. This time the pathogenic bacterium was found in beef and, perhaps more alarmingly, in refrigerated cookie dough.

The E. coli O157:H7 bacterium became widely known by the American public in 1993 when contaminated Jack-in-the-Box hamburgers were linked to hundreds of hospitalizations and four deaths. This outbreak clearly demonstrated the dangers of this pathogen, but the food industry’s lack of appropriate action has resulted in an estimated 52 E. coli O157:H7-related deaths each year.

On July 7, 2009, Vice President Biden, Secretary Vilsack (Department of Agriculture), and Secretary Sebelius (Health and Human Services), announced that the federal government will be doing more to keep the US food supply safe. According to the White House press release, the federal government will be taking the following steps: To fight the threat of E. coli, USDA is stepping up enforcement in beef facilities and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is developing new industry guidance improving protections for leafy greens, melons, and tomatoes.

• To fight the threat of E. coli, USDA is stepping up enforcement in beef facilities and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is developing new industry guidance improving protections for leafy greens, melons, and tomatoes.
• The Obama Administration is building a new national traceback and response system including clearer industry guidance, a new unified incident command system, and improved use of technology to deliver individual food safety alerts to consumers.
• Finally, the Administration announced a plan to strengthen the organization of federal food safety functions, including the creation of new positions at key food safety agencies and a continuing oversight role for the Food Safety Working Group.

According to a New York Times article, “consumer advocates and industry representatives said they welcomed the administration’s commitment to food safety.” A well-known food safety advocate, William Marler, responded optimistically to the announcement, going so far as to title one of his blog posts “I Never Thought I Would Live to See the Day – Food Safety in the Age of Obama.”

The July 7 announcement came shortly after major recalls of Nestle refrigerated cookie dough and JBS Swift beef products because of E. coli O157:H7 contamination. As of July 1, the CDC reports that 72 people in 30 states have been diagnosed with E. coli O157:H7 infections linked to Nestle cookie dough and 23 people in 9 states have gotten sick from JBS Swift beef products.

Although the food industry would like the American public to believe that these outbreaks are anomalies, they are not isolated events. According to the CDC, in 2007 (the most recent year that outbreak data is available on the CDC website), there were 1,097 outbreaks and 21,183 confirmed cases of foodborne disease; in 2006, there were 1,247 outbreaks and 25,659 cases; and in 2005, there were 982 outbreaks and 20,179 cases. With this many people getting sick every year from food, clearly there is a need for increased food safety measures in the US.

The July 7 announcement is only one part of the federal attempt to improve food safety. Several bills have been introduced in the House and the Senate this year, and one, The Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009 (H.R. 2749), has made it out of committee and may be considered by the full House of Representatives. Many of this bill’s provisions, including mandating more frequent inspections and enabling the FDA to issue mandatory recalls, will complement the FSWG recommendations.

Although the steps outlined on July 7 are, so far, mostly promises, this announcement has set the tone for food safety in the Obama administration. And, if federal agencies can deliver on their promises to improve food safety standards, maybe we won’t see so many E. coli O157:H7 outbreaks in the future.

More information:

E. coli O157:H7

Science News: A sugar helps E. coli go down: Sugar present in red meat and dairy found to be a risk factor for E. coli infection

CDC E. coli page: http://www.cdc.gov/ecoli/

Emerging Infectious Diseases: Epidemiology of Escherichia coli O157:H7 Outbreaks, United States, 1982-2002

July 7, 2009, Food Safety Announcement

Food Safety Working Group (FSWG)

The Washington Post: Overhaul of Food Safety Rules in the Works

Obama Foodorama: Food Safety Working Group: Definitely In The 21st Century. Excellent Policy Points Announced For Surveillance, Prevention, Response, Recovery…

The Los Angeles Times: The proposed Food Safety Enhancement Act is missing some ingredients