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When Smiling Hara Tempeh Managing Executive Chad Oliphant beganbuying starter culture used to make the popular bean product tempehfrom Maryland-based Tempeh Online, he surely did not expect it tobe contaminated with Salmonella (or anything else, for that matter). And, why should he? Likemost people in his position, I imagine Mr. Oliphant was actingunder the belief that the products purchased from overseasexporters have been vetted for safety issues. Of course, thisoutbreak has shown that Smiling Hara Tempeh should have tested itsproduct prior to sending it out for consumption, but it is alsoserves as an example of a burgeoning trend of foodborne illnessoutbreaks linked to imported food. Food products now come from over 250,000 foreign establishments in200 countries. Indeed, 15 percent of fruits, 20 percent ofvegetables, and 80 percent of seafood comes from overseas. And,with the consumption of imported foods growing, we have seen anincrease in foodborne illness outbreaks linked to them. In just the past year consumers felt the pain of multipleimport-related outbreaks: Turkish pine nuts, Mexican papayas, andGuatemalan cantaloupe were a few products linked to Salmonellaoutbreaks in 2011. Contaminated sprout seeds imported to Germanyfrom Egypt caused the disastrous E. coli outbreak that sickened thousands and killed 50 in Europe,including some Americans in Spring 2011. Most recently, alongsidethe tempeh outbreak, a nationwide Salmonella outbreak was traced to sushi made from imported Nakaochi scrape(aka tuna Scrape), ground tuna meat scraped from the ribs andbackbones on tuna. The contaminated tuna scrape was imported fromIndia and distributed by a California company to supermarkets andrestaurants all over the country. Despite labels indicating theproduct should be cooked, it was used in sushi rolls andceviche—dishes served raw. Over 300 Americans who ate theraw imported tuna scrape became ill with Salmonella infections. Perhaps it should not be altogether unsurprising that we areexperiencing foodborne illness outbreaks tied to imported foods,given the lack of oversight afforded to imports. A disproportional forty-five percent of seafood-related foodborneillnesses are tied to imports. What"s more, the U.S. Foodand Drug Administration (FDA) currently inspects only 1 percent ofseafood that enters the country. All other imported food fares onlyslightly better, with a whopping 2 percent becoming subject toinspection. So while thousands of people were likely sickened by imported foodlast year, my dire prediction is that we"ll continue to see arise in import-related foodborne illness outbreaks. That is,unless there are upgrades to current FDA import policies. Fortunately , I"m not alone in this thinking. In 2010, President Obama signed into law the US FDA Food SafetyModernization Act (FSMA), which included a substantial revamp offood safety procedures required for domestic food production and imports. If Funded the FMSA will increase the number of importinspections; importers will be specifically required to have aprogram to verify that the food products they are bringing intothis country are safe as well as verify that their suppliers are incompliance with reasonably appropriate risk-based preventivecontrols. Unfortunately , there are some very real hurdles to clear before FSMA can takeeffect. A critical defect in FSMA is the absence a funding mandate. Thismeans that while FDA may be required by law to implement improvedfood safety procedures, there will not be enough money to put thosepolicies into action. Currently, the funding for FSMA lies in thehands of Congress, though as FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg haspointed out: so far Congress has been unwilling to allocate FDAthe funds necessary to validate the legislation. Of course there is another roadblock that preempts even the likesof Congress. The Whitehouse Office of Management and Budget (OMB)is responsible for approving draft rules such as the provisionsestablished in FSMA. The FSMA rules pertaining to imports weresupposed to be finalized by January 4, 2012, but five months laterthey remain in OMB, apparently stalled. Where does this leave us? We will continue to see a rise in the number of imports. Americans will continue to eat more imports Without funding and enacting FSMA import rules, we will continue tosee more outbreaks associated with imports. As for Smiling Hara Tempeh, perhaps if OMB had been on schedule andCongress had appropriated sufficient funding, 83 people would nothave become victims of Salmonella poisoning. In the meantime it will be up to American importers toensure the foods they are bringing in from other countries aresafe. I am an expert from custom-textileprinting.com, while we provides the quality product, such as Custom Printed Aprons Manufacturer , Custom Drawstring Bags, Microfiber Glasses Cleaning Cloth,and more.
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