Wash Your Hands to Avoid Food-Borne Illness!

In early Janruary one of scariest outbreaks of salmonella occured, killing at least 9 people and sickening hundreds. Peanuts were the culprit. This time, it's another nut: pistachios. In late March Kraft Foods inspected Setton Pistachio in California where they found contaminated pistachios. Kraft alerted the FDA and the FDA sent out an immediate warning to consumers to stay away from products containing the nut until more could be uncovered. Currently, no illnesses or deaths have been definitely tied to contaminated pistachios, however the government in continuing to investigate.

The question is, who's doing the investigating? There are more than a dozen government agencies that oversee the food safety system. For example, according to a Washington Post article, if a pizza has only cheese on it the FDA is responsible. On the other hand, if the pizza has meat the Department of Agriculture regulates it. Lawmakers in Washington are currently calling for a food safety system reform, including the president.

Food-borne illnesses are usually caused by contaminated produce, poor hygiene, and improper cooking techniques. To say safe, watch for the FDA's recall list and continue to wash fresh produce, use seperate utensils for raw meat, and wash your hands!