Safe Food: The Politics of Food Safety (54 page)

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Authors: Marion Nestle

Tags: #Cooking & Food, #food, #Nonfiction, #Politics

BOOK: Safe Food: The Politics of Food Safety
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INTRODUCTION: FOOD SAFETY IS POLITICAL

1
. Kaufman M. Biotech critics cite unapproved corn in taco shells.
Washington Post
, September 18, 2000:A2. Freese B.
The StarLink Affair
. Washington, DC: Friends of the Earth, July 2001, at
www.foodallergyangel.com/documents/GMO/StarlinkReport.pdf
.
Food Traceability Report. StarLink: Lessons Learned
. Washington, DC: FCN Publishing, 2001. Taylor MR, Tick JS.
The StarLink Case: Issues for the Future
. Washington, DC: Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology, October 2001, at
www.pewtrusts.org/our_work_report_detail.aspx?id=33384
. Goldberg RA.
Aventis CropScience and StarLink Corn
. Boston: Harvard Business School (Case N9-902-411), November 5, 2001.

2
. Lambert B, Buysse L, Decock C, et al. A
Bacillus thuringiensis
insecticidal crystal protein with a high activity against members of the family Noctuidae.
Applied and Environmental Microbiology
1996;62:80–86.

3
. O’Reilly B. Reaping a biotech blunder.
Fortune
, February 19, 2001:156–164.

4
. EPA. Assessment of scientific information concerning StarLink corn Cry9C
Bt
corn plant-pesticide; notice.
FR
65:65246–65251, October 31, 2000. This notice gives a particularly clear account of how corn gets commingled in grain elevators and dry mills (corn meal and flour) and wet mills (corn starch, sweeteners, protein, fiber, and alcohol).

5
. EPA. Allergenicity assessment of Cry9C
Bt
corn plant pesticide.
FR
64:71452–71453, December 21, 1999. EPA.
FIFRA Scientific Advisory Panel Meeting, November 28, 2000
(SAP Report No. 2000-06), at
www.epa.gov/scipoly/SAP/meetings/2000/112800_mtg.htm
.

6
. FDA.
FDA Evaluation of Consumer Complaints Linked to Foods Allegedly
Containing StarLink
ô
Corn
, June 13, 2001, at
www.epa.gov/scipoly/SAP/meetings/2001/july/fda.pdf
. CDC.
Investigation of Human Health Effects Associated with Potential Exposure to Genetically Modified Corn
, June 11, 2001, at
www.cdc.gov/nceh/ehhe/cry9creport/pdfs/cry9creport.pdf
.

7
. EPA.
FIFRA Scientific Advisory Panel Meeting, July 17–18, 2001
(SAP Report No. 2001-09), at
www.epa.gov/scipoly/sap/meetings/2001/071701_mtg.htm
.

8
. Kaufman M. Biotech corn fuels a recall.
Washington Post
, September 23, 2000:A1,A6. Pollack A. Aventis gives up license to sell bioengineered corn.
NYT
, October 13, 2000:C5.

9
. Kaufman M. Biotech grain is in 430 million bushels of corn, firm says.
Washington Post
, March 18, 2001:A8. Lin W, Price GK, Allen E. StarLink: impacts on the U.S. corn market and world trade. In
Feed Situation and Outlook Yearbook
(USDA/ERS, FDS-2001), April 2001:40–48. Kilman S. Regulators are urged to permit bioengineered corn to be in food.
WSJ
, October 26, 2000:B23.

10
. Pollack A. Aventis tries a new tack on StarLink corn.
NYT
, April 24, 2001:C4. Durbin D. Review of EPA Documents Shows Agency Had Knowledge in 1998 of Possible Biotech Contamination (press release). Washington, DC: U.S. Senate, December 1, 2000.

11
. Barboza D. Gene-altered corn changes dynamics of grain industry.
NYT
, December 11, 2000:A1,A24.

12
. Winter G. Taco Bell’s core customers seem undaunted by shell scare.
NYT
, October 3, 2000:C6. Kaufman M. Biotech corn may be in various foods.
Washington Post
, October 19, 2000:A1. Barboza D. Negligence suit is filed over altered corn.
NYT
, December 4, 2000:C2.

13
. Pollack A. Kraft recalls taco shells with bioengineered corn.
NYT
, September 23, 2000:C1,C15.

14
. Mendelson J, Blackwelder B, Ritchie M, et al. Letter to the Honorable William Jefferson Clinton re: Kraft recall of taco shells and genetically engineered food, September 27, 2000, at
http://pirg.org/ge/GE.asp?id2=4785&id3=ge&
.

15
. Aventis battles consumer groups at EPA hearing to decide GE corn’s safety.
Nutrition Week
, December 1, 2000:1–2.

16
. Kaufman M. U.S. will buy back corn seed: firms to be compensated for batches mixed with biotech variety.
Washington Post
, March 8, 2001:A3. Hansen M. Starlink-Cry9C Protein (Consumers Union comments, EPA Docket number OPP-00688), November 28, 2000, at
www.consumersunion.org/pub/core_food_safety/002294.html
. Lueck S. Aventis is criticized over biotech corn.
WSJ
, October 27, 2000:B2.

17
. Carroll J. Judge will approve settlement on use of StarLink corn.
WSJ
, March 7, 2002:A4.

18
. Institute of Medicine.
Ensuring Safe Food: From Production to Consumption
. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 1998.

19
. Snow CP.
Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution: The Rede Lecture
. London: Cambridge University Press, 1959.

20
. Geertz C. Empowering Aristotle (book review).
Science
2001;293:53.

21
. Handler P. Some comments on risk assessment. In:
National Research Council Current Issues and Studies
(annual report). Washington, DC: National Academy of Sciences, 1979. Cited in Douglas and Wildavsky (note 26):32.

22
. Groth E. Communicating with consumers about food safety and risk issues.
Food Technology
1991;45(5):248–253.

23
. Massey A. Crops, genes, and evolution.
Gastronomica
2001;1(3):21–29.

24
. DHHS.
Determining Risks to Health: Federal Policy and Practice
. Dover, MA: Auburn House, 1986.

25
. DHHS.
Healthy People 2010
, Vol 1, January 2000. Online:
www.health.gov/healthypeople/
.

26
. Douglas M, Wildavsky A.
Risk and Culture: An Essay on the Selection of Technical and Environmental Dangers
. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1982. Quotation: 73,80–81.

27
. Fischler C. Raison et déraison dans la perception des risques alimentaires.
Cahiers de Nutrition et de Diététique
1998;33:297–300. Fischler writes: “Si l’on est ce que l’on mange et que l’on ne sait plus ce que l’on mange, sait-on encore ce que l’on est?” Also see, of course: Lévi-Strauss C.
The Raw and the Cooked
, Vols. 1–3. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1968–1969.

28
. Slovic P.
The Perception of Risk
. London: Earthscan, 2000. Lowrance WW.
Of Acceptable Risk: Science and the Determination of Safety
. Los Altos, CA: William Kaufmann, 1976. Scherer CW. Strategies for communicating risks to the public.
Food Technology
1991;45(10):110–116. Bennett P, Calman K, eds.
Risk Communication and Public Health
. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999:3–19.

29
. Burros M. Congress moving to revamp rules on food safety: reducing federal role.
NYT
, July 3, 1995:1,28. Thonney PF, Bisogni CA. Government regulation of food safety: interaction of scientific and societal forces: a scientific status summary.
Food Technology
1992:46 (1):73–80.

30
. Sandman PM. Risk communication: facing public outrage.
EPA J
1987;13(9):21–22. Frewer L. Risk perception, social trust, and public participation in strategic decision making: implications for emerging technologies.
Ambio
(Sweden) 1999;28:569–574.

31
. Commission of the European Communities.
Communication from the Commission on the Precautionary Principle
. Brussels, February 2, 2000, at
http://portal.unesco.org/shs/en/ev.php-URL_ID=6615&URL_DO=DO_PRINT PAGE&URL_SECTION=201.html
.

32
. Foster KR, Vecchia P, Repacholi MH. Science and the precautionary principle.
Science
2000;288:979–981. Groth E.
Science, Precaution and Food Safety: How Can We Do Better?
(discussion paper for the US Codex Delegation), February 2000, at
www.consumersunion.org/food/codexcpi200.htm
.

33
. Montague P. The precautionary principle.
Rachel’s Environment & Health Weekly
, 586, February 19, 1998, at
www.seismo.unr.edu/htdocs/academic/
ANDERSON/Papers/Precaution/Montague_PrecautionaryPrinciple.pdf
.

34
.
The EU-U.S. Biotechnology Consultative Forum: Final Report
. Brussels, December 2000, at
http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/00/1484&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en
.

35
. Whelan EM. Our “stolen future” and the precautionary principle.
Priorities for Health
1996;8(3), at
www.acsh.org/healthissues/newsID.712/health issue_detail.asp
. Also see: Paarlberg RL.
The Politics of Precaution: Genetically Modified Foods in Developing Countries
. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2001.

PART 1. RESISTING FOOD SAFETY

1
. Mead PS, Slutsker L, Dietz V, et al. Food-related illness and death in the United States.
Emerging Infectious Diseases
1999;5:607–625. CDC. Preliminary FoodNet data on the incidence of foodborne illnesses—selected sites, United States, 2000.
MMWR
2001;50 (April 6):241–246.

2
. Fox N.
Spoiled: the Dangerous Truth About a Food Chain Gone Haywire
. New York: Basic Books, 1997:66–67.

3
. Brown J, Byers T, Thompson K, et al. Nutrition during and after cancer treatment: a guide for informed choices by cancer survivors.
CA: Cancer J for Clinicians
2001;51(3):153–187.

CHAPTER 1. THE POLITICS OF FOODBORNE ILLNESS: ISSUES AND ORIGINS

1
. Smith RJ. Institute of Medicine report recommends complete overhaul of food safety laws.
Science
1979;203:1221–1224. Although warning labels are no longer required, the role of saccharin in human cancer is still under debate. A 1998 review by the World Cancer Research Fund (
Food, Nutrition, and the Prevention of Cancer: A Global Perspective
. Washington, DC: American Institute for Cancer Research, 1998:356–358) concluded that saccharin “probably has no relationship with the risk of bladder cancer in the amounts obtainable from normal diets.” For a more cautious view, see: Corcoran L, Jacobson M. Saccharin: bittersweet.
Nutrition Action Healthletter
1998;25(3):11–13. My assessment: if saccharin does affect cancer risk, it does so weakly.

2
. Kessler DA. Food safety: revising the statute.
Science
1984;223:1034–1040. Kramer CS, Penner KP. Food safety: consumers report their concerns.
National Food Review
1986;9(spring):21–24. Stevens WK. Officials call microbes most urgent food threat.
NYT
, March 28, 1989:C1,C11.

3
. U.S. food safety defense weakening; needs bolster.
CNI Weekly Report
, May 31, 1984:4–5. Carlson M. Do you dare to eat a peach?
Time
, March 27, 1989:24–38. Warning! Your food, nutritious and delicious, may be hazardous to your health.
Newsweek
, March 27, 1989:16–25. Jacobson MF, Lefferts LY, Garland AW.
Safe Food: Eating Wisely in a Risky World
. Los Angeles: Living Planet Press, 1991.

4
. Burros M. New urgency fuels effort to improve safety of food.
NYT
, May 7, 1990:A1,D11.

5
. Wolf ID. Critical issues in food safety, 1991–2000.
Food Technology
1992;46(1):64–70. Lynch S, Lin C-TJ. Food safety: meal planners express their concerns.
FoodReview
1994;17(2):14–18. Food safety concerns addressed by editors, members of public.
Illinois Agrinews
, October 3, 1997:A14.

6
. Mead PS, Slutsker L, Dietz V, et al. Food-related illness and death in the United States.
Emerging Infectious Diseases
1999;5:607–625.

7
. Chicken: what you don’t know can hurt you.
Consumer Reports
, March 1998:12–18. Dahl E, DeWaal CS.
Scrambled Eggs: How a Broken Food Safety System Let Contaminated Eggs Become a National Food Poisoning Epidemic
. May 1997. Online:
www.cspinet.org/reports/eggs.html
.

8
. Archer DL, Kvenberg JE. Incidence and cost of foodborne diarrheal disease
in the United States.
J Food Protection
1985;48:887–894. Council for Agricultural Science and Technology.
Foodborne Pathogens: Risks and Consequences
. Ames, IA, September 1994.

9
. CDC. Incidence of foodborne illnesses—FoodNet, 1997.
JAMA
1998;280: 1651–1652. GAO.
Food Safety: Information on Foodborne Illnesses
(GAO/RCED-96-96), May 8, 1996.

10
. Institute of Medicine.
Ensuring Safe Food: From Production to Consumption
. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 1998. Its appendix B reviews the history of changes in federal food safety responsibilities.

11
. CDC. Preliminary FoodNet data on the incidence of foodborne illnesses—selected sites, United States, 2001.
MMWR
2002;51 (April 19):325–329.

12
. Roberts T, van Ravenswaay E. The economics of food safety.
National Food Review
1989;12(3):1–8. Buzby JC, Roberts T. ERS estimates U.S. foodborne disease costs.
FoodReview
1995;18(3):37–42. Buzby JC, Roberts T, Lin C-TJ, et al.
Bacterial Foodborne Disease: Medical Costs and Productivity Losses
. USDA/ERS, August 1996. Buzby JC, Roberts T. ERS updates U.S. foodborne disease costs for seven pathogens.
FoodReview
1996;19(3):20–25. GAO.
Food Safety: Federal Efforts to Ensure the Safety of Imported Foods Are Inconsistent and Unreliable
(GAO/RCED-98-103), April 1998. Buzby JC. Children and microbial foodborne illness.
FoodReview
2001;24(2):32–37.

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