Many healthy food such as eggs, leafy greens and tuna are among the top 10 foods regulated by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that are most likely to cause outbreaks of foodborne illness, according to a consumer group that is calling for an end to self-regulation among America’s food growers and processors.

A new report released on 6 October by the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a non-profit consumer watchdog based in Washington, US and Ottawa, Canada, did not suggest Americans stop eating leafy greens, eggs, tuna, tomatoes, sprouts, berries, and the other foods that are on the list of the top ten FDA-regulated foods most likely to cause foodborne illness outbreaks.

But they said the fact so many healthy foods are on the list is a strong reason why the US Senate should now do what the House has already done and update America’s “antiquated” food safety laws which rely primarily on self-regulation.

CSPI staff attorney and lead author of the report, Sarah Klein, told the press that:

“Outbreaks give the best evidence of where and when the food safety system is failing to protect the public.”

“It is clearly time for FDA’s reliance on industry self-regulation to come to an end,” she added, explaining that “the absence of safety plans or frequent inspections unfortunately means that some of our favorite and most healthful foods also top the list of the most risky”.

The FDA regulates nearly 80 per cent of the food in the food chain, including fresh produce, seafood, eggs, and dairy, as well as processed food such as peanut butter and cookie dough.

The report authors said they found more than 1,500 separate definable outbreaks were linked with the top 10 riskiest FDA-regulated foods. These outbreaks caused nearly 50,000 reported illnesses, but the CSPI believes that since many foodborne illnesses are never reported this figure represents only the tip of a very large iceberg.

Kathleen Chrismer, mother of 9-year-old Rylee Gustafson who had to be hospitalized for a month because she ate spinach contaminated with E. coli O157:H7, said in a CSPI press statement that:

“As consumers, we don’t have the power to check on these products.”

“Without a better system to protect us, we are totally at the mercy of the next outbreak,” she warned.

For the report the authors analyzed records on outbreaks from 1990 to 2006 held in the CSPI’s Outbreak Alert! Database, which includes data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other sources.

The results showed that:

  • Leafy greens, including iceberg and romaine lettuce and spinach, variously contaminated with E. coli, Norovirus, and Salmonella, were linked to 363 outbreaks and 13,568 cases of illness.

  • It is thought that these foodborne infectious agents get into leafy greens from manure, contaminated irrigation water, and poor handling practices.

  • Eggs were linked to 352 outbreaks and 11,163 cases of illness.

  • Tuna: 268 outbreaks and 2,341 cases of illness.

  • Oysters, despite their limited consumption, were linked to 132 outbreaks causing 3,409 illnesses.

  • Potatoes never seem to make big news as carriers of foodborne disease, but they were linked to 108 outbreaks and 3,659 cases of illness.

  • The rest of the list of 10 foods comprises cheese, ice cream, tomatoes, sprouts (eg bean sprouts and sprouted seeds), and berries.

The FDA is currently not required to make farmers and food processors write food safety plans, and neither is it required to provide specific safety standards for even the largest food growers.

In July this year, with support from both the democrats and the republicans, the US House of Representatives passed the Food Safety Enhancement Act, which if passed into law would require the FDA to specify food safety standards for growers, and give the agency power to make food processors write and follow food safety plans. The Act would also require that FDA inspectors visit high risk producers every 12 months or more often, and everyone else every 3 to 4 years.

Richard (Dick) Durbin, democratic senator for Illinois, is sponsoring a similar piece of legislation that is waiting to go before the Senate.

CSPI Report: The Ten Riskiest Foods Regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (pdf).

Source: CSPI.

Written by: Catharine Paddock, PhD