Food Safety in The United States (Free Essay Sample)

The prevailing problem of food safety has been altered throughout centuries in the United States government. The first form of food safety being implemented in 1785 with the Massachusetts Act Against Selling Unwholesome Provisions. This first known form of food safety was ensured through the government with listed consequences (IFT, ND). The most recent being implemented by President Obama in 2011 (FDA, 2022). Here, President Obama listed out that the focus of food safety needs to be focused on the prevention, rather than the consequences of contamination. This shows a prevailing problem in the legal system regarding the effectiveness of food safety. Focusing on the prevention rather than fully on the consequence can further promote a healthier society. The United States government passed the Pure Food and Drug Act in 1906 that would soon create the base of food safety: the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The primary responsibility of the FDA is to protect the public health by “ensuring the safety of our nation’s food supply…” (FDA, ND). While the United States is implementing influential acts regarding food safety, the United States still ranks only 9th out of the world’s countries for overall food safety. Thus, demonstrating that there is more that can be done with balancing food safety and natural resources with resilience where we are ranked 17th globally (GFSI, 2021). 

Food safety impacts every person in the United States. From produce bought from street markets to meals at sit-down restaurants, the safety of the food comes from the beginning. Farmers and “food scientist” have been using a new form of food called a Genetically Modified Organism (GMO). GMOs are known to speed up the harvest cycle in crops, increase the yield in a harvest, and spur selective breeding techniques. While this sparks a high percentage of growth, the negative effects of GMOs can be often overlooked. The FDA, however, implemented programs such as the Plant Biotechnology Consultation Program and the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service to help regulate which GMOs are put into the market. As stated before, the GMOs also affect animals through what is eaten. If livestock are eating genetically modified food, what does that do to them? According to Beef Magazine, a nationally renowned agriculture magazine, says that genetically modified livestock feed “shows no adverse effects” when testing over 100 billion animals (Rutherford, 2014). However, over 25 countries currently ban the research and usage of the genetically modified organisms in produce and agriculture (Bello, 2013). The case against the implementation of GMOs argues that GMOs “disrupts the precise sequence of a food’s genetic code and disturbs the function of neighboring genes.” With this disrupted function, it could potentially contribute to unintended toxic molecules and alter nutritional values. However, it is believed that around 75% of the processed food in the United States has GMOs and an average of 90% of individual crops produced in the United States have GMOs (Center for Food Safety, ND). Though the FDA has measures in place for the interpretation of the different modifications made to foods, the FDA do not however have any involvement with the process in which the product is made. The United States also doesn’t require a company to be “FDA approved” to have their food on store shelves. This can create future controversy with companies “seeking forgiveness instead of approval.” Letting GMOs be placed on the shelves and sold to the general consumer without requiring companies be tested could create problems regarding consumer health and companies receiving backlash. It should be the duty of the United States to regulate every company or organization that sells foods directly to the consumer and/or to third-party distribution centers.

Food safety on a domestic scale has been implemented thoroughly. However, food safety on the international scale has been often overlooked. According to the FDA, they inspected less than two percent of all food shipments coming into the United States (KBIA, 2013). All imports of food are subject to screening, however, many of the foods are overlooked. The FDA may require different warnings and labels to be put on packaging, how can we able to track where the food came from. This starts at the source of food production. While the United States has acts put in place regarding sanitation standards and containment requirements, how are we able to monitor the production of food in other countries? Companies often seek to use foreign companies to import their food for a cheaper price than producing it domestically. This lower price has two primary contributors: cheap labor and little to no regulation in the production of the food units. The FDA does provide a list of foods on their website that are predominately brought in from other countries, however, there isn’t a label required for imported foods. During the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt, he claims that “the product is what the label says it is.” While the packaging may say what the product is, it is a necessity that products say where they were produced and if they were imported or not. During the Lettuce-E. coli problem, restaurants like Chipotle took it into their own hands to make sure that their customers are safe. Chipotle conducted DNA-testing on every ingredient including the lettuce before it was shipped to the restaurants (Cooper, 2019). Restaurants and super stores sought out more support from the government in that they weren’t receiving any sort of aid in their efforts to make sure that the lettuce is not infected with E. coli (BBC, 2017). While government budget changes can be difficult to be adjusted in a short period of time, the FDA and other federal food administrations should have taken a greater action in protecting the American people. Solutions could include having a notice on every entrance to a food distribution building, sending representatives to areas to demonstrate ways to protect the customer, or directing money from other funds to increase inspection of food. To relate back to international affairs, this E. coli outbreak was traced back to a farm in the Yuma region where the farm was operating in sub-standard sanitation practices (Marler, 2022).

In conclusion, the duty of food safety lies in political actions taken towards the prevention of the spread of infection rather than the action taken after infection. This includes the labeling of all imported goods, programs in place to check above the current two percent of imported foods, background checks on the origin of different produce and foods, and an increased government intervention into food contamination scares. Food safety is a concern of the entire nation; altering budgeting efforts towards preventing outbreaks can promote a healthier nation. With the inaction of these different programs, there will be a structured plan towards food safety.