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Americans Are Losing Faith in Food Safety. Is the System to Blame?
Public confidence in the U.S. government’s ability to protect the food supply is at an all-time low, according to a recent Gallup poll. That part is clear. What’s not as clear, say experts in food safety, are the factors driving this particular American pessimism.
One expert might mention the constant drumbeat of recalls or the high-profile stories about the sickness and death linked to infant formula.
Another might point to the underfunded Food and Drug Administration, which has historically prioritized drugs and medicine over food safety.
But they all largely agree that one factor has eroded public faith in the agencies that regulate and monitor the food supply: a general distrust of government, science and expertise — a downward spiral that began during the pandemic and hasn’t eased up.
Benjamin Chapman is a food safety extension specialist at North Carolina State University. He reviewed the results of the Gallup poll (conducted in July, just as the deadly Boar’s Head listeria outbreak was coming to the public’s attention) and noticed a major mood swing: From 2008 to 2019, the percentage of Americans who had a great deal or fair amount of trust in federal agencies to keep their food safe remained relatively steady, dipping three points in 11 years. But from 2019 to this summer, public confidence dropped 11 points.
Kids Are Sucking Down Baby Food Pouches at Record Rates. ‘We’re Going to Pay for It,’ Experts Say
Every week, Caitlin Scuttio stops by Target and piles her cart with pureed food pouches for her four year-old and twin 18-month-olds sons.
In goes a 24-pack of unsweetened applesauce. Then a 24-pack of the fruit and veggie blend. And finally, the yogurt pouches for her oldest son’s breakfast. “He’d eat six apple sauce pouches a day if I let him,” Scuttio said. Total monthly pouch budget: $200.
“They have such a choke hold on my family. I can’t imagine our grocery list without it at this point,” she said. “We are definitely a pouch family.”
And they aren’t alone. Sales of food pouches — soft bags with plastic spouts for easy consumption — have increased 900% since 2010, overtaking jarred purees as the predominant baby food on the market.
Parents generally spoon-feed jars of pureed foods for a few months in the first year of life when introducing solids, but pouches marketed to parents of toddlers and older children have prolonged pureed food eating by years.
Kellogg’s Faces Protests Over Food Dyes in Popular Breakfast Cereals
Hundreds of people gathered outside the WK Kellogg headquarters in Michigan on Tuesday calling for the company to hold up its promise to remove artificial dyes from its breakfast cereals sold in the U.S.
Nearly 10 years ago, Kellogg’s, the maker of Froot Loops and Apple Jacks, committed to removing such additives from its products by 2018. While Kellogg’s has done so in other countries including Canada, which now makes Froot Loops with natural fruit juice concentrates, the cereals sold in the U.S. still contain both food dyes and a chemical preservative.
In the U.S., Froot Loops ingredients include Red Dye No. 40, Yellow Dye No. 5, Yellow Dye No. 6 and Blue Dye No. 1.
Food activist Vani Hari, also known as the Food Babe on social media, spoke to the crowd of demonstrators at the cereal giant’s offices in Battle Creek on Tuesday.
“I’m here for the moms, all the moms, who struggle to feed their children healthy food without added chemicals,” she said.
In response to the protests, Kellogg’s insisted its products are safe for consumption, saying its ingredients meet the federal standards set by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
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Millions of Pounds of Meat Are Being Recalled. Here’s What to Look for in Your Fridge
Public health authorities are urging Americans to check their fridges and freezers after recalling more than 11 million pounds of ready-to-eat meat and poultry items over possible listeria contamination.
The Oregon-based company BrucePac, which sells pre-cooked proteins, is recalling 11,765,285 pounds of meat and poultry that it shipped to grocery stores, restaurants, schools and other institutions nationwide, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS).
The FSIS says it detected listeria during routine testing of finished products containing BrucePac poultry, which a subsequent investigation confirmed as the source. The bacteria can cause a serious infection that is especially dangerous for people who are pregnant, over 65 or have weakened immune systems. There have been no confirmed reports of adverse reactions linked to the products, it adds.
Lawsuits Aim to Prevent ‘Illegal’ Hiding of Toxic Chemicals by US Regulators
Two lawsuits aim to stop U.S. federal regulators and industry from “illegally” hiding basic information about toxic chemicals that are potentially polluting the environment, used in consumer products and endangering public health.
Companies often claim that toxic chemicals’ health and safety data, and even their names, are “confidential business information” because making the data public could damage their bottom line.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) frequently allows industry to use the tactic, which makes it virtually impossible for public health researchers to quickly learn about dangerous chemicals. It also bars most EPA staff and state regulators from accessing the information and criminal charges could be brought against those who do. That leaves regulators attempting to protect the public without essential information for some chemicals and in effect, creates a “shadow regulatory government” in the EPA, said Tim Whitehouse, a former EPA attorney who is now director of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (Peer), a plaintiff in one of the suits.
Separately, Peer is suing the EPA for hiding health and safety data for chemicals made by Inhance Technologies, which produces plastic containers found to leach dangerous levels of PFOA, a highly toxic compound, into the containers’ contents.
Inhance produces tens of millions of plastic containers used across the economy annually. Peer submitted a Freedom of Information Act request for results of EPA testing on the level at which the chemicals leach into the containers’ contents.
The EPA redacted the results, which Peer said is illegal, citing revised TSCA language.
Recent Recalls Raise Concerns About Food Safety, but Experts Credit Better Regulation and Technology
Chicago Heights resident Stephanie Petersen was concerned by how many food recalls she saw daily on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) website. “There was, like, (multiple) recalls every single day. And a lot of salmonella, listeria, a lot of different things,” Petersen said. “I was like, what is going on? It’s so many.”
Petersen, an occupational therapy student who posts regularly on social media about health, started creating TikTok videos in August where she updates followers on the latest recalls. She includes information like dates, severity, screenshots from the FDA website and news sources.
“I’m just doing it to help and keep everybody safe,” Petersen said. “All I say is just, you know, stay on top of the recalls.”
Recent food recalls have raised concerns among consumers about food safety and regulation. But experts said the issue is complicated due to factors like increased regulation, better technology and more public awareness. “There’s no crystal ball that will ever keep us (at) 100% protection just because of the nature of food that we eat and where it’s coming from,” said Brian Schaneberg, executive director of the Institute for Food Safety and Health at Illinois Tech.
The FDA regulates about 78% of the U.S. food supply except for meat, poultry and some fish products, which are overseen by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Food recalls are issued after companies find problems, consumers report health issues or regulators conduct testing.
According to FDA data, nearly 1,200 food products have been recalled so far in 2024.
