The HCPHES Priority Public Health Issues for 2013-2018:
FOOD SAFETY
WHY FOOD SAFETY MATTERS
The Food Supply Is a Major Source of Illness
Food is a fundamental need. It is part of the fabric of our daily lives, families, cultures, and communities. Food
also continues to be a major source of illness both in the U.S. and in Texas.
1 in 6 Texans
gets a foodborne
illness every year4
Each year, 48 million foodborne illnesses are reported in the U.S.1 at a cost of $152
billion in medical expenses and lost productivity.2 Foodborne illness is also implicated
in over 3,000 deaths in the U.S. annually.1 Because food is regularly transported,
foodborne illness can spread easily and rapidly across state lines. Between 2006 and
2010, there were 80 multi-state outbreaks of
foodborne disease.3
For every 1 case
In Texas, approximately 4 million foodborne illnesses
are diagnosed each year, the equivalent of 1 in every
6 Texans, and about 240 Texans die annually from
eating contaminated food.4
of a foodborne
illness diagnosed,*
87 more cases are
never reported
Most foodborne illness in the U.S. can be traced to less than 20 foods, most
commonly: raw leafy greens, poultry meats, and milk and cheese,5 and are
caused by well-known pathogens, such as campylobacter, E. coli, listeria, and
salmonella.6 However, 80% of foodborne illness have no specific biological
cause,1 and many are never reported. For example, for every 1 case of the
pathogens listed above that are diagnosed, 87 additional cases are not.6
The Food Supply Is Changing
*Specifically the diseases of campylobacter,
E. coli, listeria, and salmonella6
Today, food travels an average of 1,500 miles from where it is grown or raised to where it is sold, and most
Americans eat almost one-third of their daily calories away from home.7 Each additional stage in the food
production and supply cycle is another potential access point for illness.
Emerging Challenges
to Food Safety3
Unregulated direct-to-consumer
food sales (e.g., food stands,
international importers, raw and
unpasteurized foods, such as raw
milk and cheeses)
Changes in climate and weather
patterns that affect growing
conditions resulting in disease
(e.g., in harvested shellfish)
Human and livestock microbial
resistance to food pathogens
New and different types of foods
becoming contaminated
Agricultural contamination, poor transport sanitation, improper food handling,
and poor personal hygiene at home and in retail or other public kitchens have
all been implicated in the transmission of foodborne illness.3 People are also
accessing food in new and alternative ways that may place them at risk for
disease. These and other changes in the food supply are posing new challenges
to modern food safety (see Emerging Challenges in Food Safety, left).3
Though risks to food safety can occur at any step in the food production and
supply cycle, so do opportunities to prevent the conditions that lead to foodborne
illness. Proven public health assessment, assurance, and policy recommendations
have been identified for each major point in the Food System in order to make
food safer.
1
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Center for Emerging & Zoonotic Infectious Disease, Division of Foodborne,
Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases. CDC Estimates of Foodborne Illness in the United States (February 2011). 2U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Economic Research Service, Making Sense of Recent Cost-of-Foodborne-Illness Estimates (September 2013). 3CDC, National Center
for Emerging & Zoonotic Infectious Disease, Division of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases. Food Safety: A CDC Winnable Battle
(August 20012). 4Texas Department of State Health Services (TDSHS). 2014 Health Status of Texas. 5Painter, JA et al., Attribution of Foodborne
Illnesses, Hospitalizations, and Deaths to Food Commodities by using Outbreak Data, United States, 1998 0 2008, Emerging Infectious Diseases.
Vol. 19, No. 3 (March 2013). 6CDC, Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network (FoodNet), 2013 Progress Report on Six Key Pathogens
Compared to 2006 – 2008.
WHAT WORKS TO PROMOTE FOOD SAFETY
Public Health Interventions at All Points in the Food System
The Food System includes the entire lifecycle of the food we eat, from production and distribution (how food
is grown, raised, packaged, transported, and sold) to preparation and consumption (either commercially or in
our homes). Because disease-causing agents can find their way into food at any of these points, proven
strategies to prevent and control foodborne illness also exist at each of these places, and they succeed through
partnerships between federal regulatory agencies, policies, and state and local public health. For example:
AT FOOD PRODUCTION
Implementation of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)’s Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) mandating
science-based preventive controls for all food growing, raising, harvesting, producing, and processing facilities.
Determination of when additional safety standards for specific foods should be enacted based on disease risk. Recent
examples include rules for shell eggs, raw juice, processed foods, and dietary supplements.
AT FOOD DISTRIBUTION
Assurance of preventive controls during the transport of food, such as temperature maintenance, vehicle cleaning and
disinfecting, and tracking of shipments and storage.
Labelling of food products for sale or distribution that are considered high-risk, such as raw foods, or that could be highrisk to specific populations, such as pregnant women.
AT FOOD PREPARATION
Regulatory guidance of all food retailers and foodservice establishments in accordance with local food safety laws,
including facility plan reviews, permits, and inspections. If necessary, this also includes citations and closures.
Training and certification of retail food operators in foodborne illness prevention, including compliance with local
mandates, implementing preventive controls, and addressing worker health and hygiene.
Risk reduction education for the general public to help prevent foodborne illness when consuming food, such as hand and
food washing, maintaining proper food temperature, and properly separating foods.
AT FOOD CONSUMPTION
When a foodborne illness does occur, those that diagnose cases should report them to their local public health authority,
which tracks numbers and trends of foodborne disease at a community-wide scale, called disease surveillance.
Disease investigation, in which public health routinely and systematically investigates individuals who may have been
exposed to foodborne illness, in order to test, treat, and track them for the disease.
Outbreak response, including planning, risk identification, and containment. This also includes efforts to pinpoint the exact
cause of an outbreak, so the public can be alerted and the food can be removed.
Though risks to food safety can occur at any point in the Food System, so do opportunities to prevent
foodborne illness. Preventive controls, regulatory guidance, and a robust response when foodborne
illness does occur is the proven bundle of tactics in the “Winnable Battle” against foodborne illness.
The HCPHES Priority Public Health Issues for 2013-2018
Selected for the magnitude of the issue and our ability to make progress in Harris County
Chronic
Disease
Food
Safety
Emergency
Preparedness
Environmental
Health
Infectious
Disease
©2015 Office of Policy and Planning  2223 W. Loop South, Houston, TX 77027  Tel: (713) 439-6000  Email: [email protected]
Injury
Social, Mental,
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