It isn’t every day that the president of a major food company asks Congress for more federal oversight. But that’s exactly what Kellogg Company president and CEO David Mackay did a couple of months ago… he asked for more regulation, stricter rules and closer monitoring of food processing by the FDA. The reason for the request: Kellogg Company was one of many victims in the aftermath of the salmonella-tainted peanut butter fiasco (the outbreak sickened at least 714 people and is believed to have contributed to at least nine deaths), losing $65 to $70 million in the recall of its Keebler and Austin Quality Foods brand snack crackers, which were made with a different company’s contaminated peanut paste. There’s little question that more oversight and stricter regulation would help improve food safety, but the truth of the matter is that the government will never be able to ensure a food supply that is 100% clean. Gross as it is, we’ve been eating food with bugs, rodent droppings and the like in it for our entire lives.
“The recent outbreak illustrated that the US food safety system must be strengthened,” Mackay said. “We believe the key is to focus on prevention, so that potential sources of contamination are identified and properly addressed before they become actual food safety problems.”
Mackay’s testimony adds to the hue and cry directed at the Obama Administration for review and potential overhaul of our current food-safety system — a system that too often relies on dated research and is inadequately funded, especially when it comes to inspections. Improvements may be necessary and likely to happen, but at the same time, I think we must recognize that we don’t live in a completely sanitary world — and even when the rules are followed, and even when you buy only organic produce at high-end markets, food is far from sterile. Frankly, it’s not all that clean and it never was… and maybe it doesn’t even have to be.
If you’re wondering what I’m talking about, do a Google search for the FDA’s Food Defect Action Levels handbook, and look at some of the entries… but be prepared for some unpleasant business.
The handbook lists the acceptable levels of “natural and unavoidable” defects in food — if contaminants are at the acceptable level or below, the food is okay by FDA standards and “poses no inherent hazard to health.” Your stomach may nonetheless churn when you look at some of the “natural and unavoidable” defects, which include rodent hair and excrement, insect pieces, maggots, mold, mildew and more.
Here are some of the details:
However unappetizing all that sounds, ingesting any of these ingredients won’t make most people sick. In fact, we’ve been eating all sorts of contaminants in organic as well as non-organic produce… packaged foods… prepared foods, etc. There is really no way to eliminate them altogether. It’s simply unrealistic in the “real world,” I was told by Michael Doyle, PhD, Regents professor of food microbiology and director of the Center for Food Safety at the University of Georgia in Griffin. “We don’t live in a sterile environment and we wouldn’t be able to practically produce these types of commodities in a sterile environment, so we have to accept the fact that there will always be some types of contaminants present,” he said. It’s not okay — but as they say, it just “is what it is.” It’s not new. “Sure, you could always buy your own grain and sift it out, I suppose,” says Dr. Doyle. “But that really isn’t practical.” He points out that even following the current trend of buying organic or locally grown food won’t keep contaminants out of your food supply — a visit to any farm can show you that.
If creating a perfect regulatory system lies somewhere between impractical and unrealistic and we have to accept some level of filth in our food, is there anything we can do to stay healthy? It might help to remember that some noted scientists believe that small exposure to “challenging situations” helps strengthen the immune system. Beyond that, it’s another example of why we need to do everything we can to maintain digestive health. Eat well, sleep enough and exercise regularly. Don’t mask a poor diet by regularly taking medications when diet modifications can help — doing so may cause problems that are far worse. Buy foods that are fresh and ripe… chew thoroughly… drink enough water. All this will help your body do what it needs to do in the most natural way.
