16.8: Summary

According to our experts, the biggest threat to the safety of our food supply is contamination with disease-causing microbes or the toxins they make. Crop pesticides and food additives are near the bottom of their food-hazards list. For these and any other substance that we might worry about in our food, the most important consideration is dose, e.g., we normally ingest microbial toxins, but they are a problem only when we eat them in amounts large enough to make us sick. The dose makes the poison.

Plants contain a variety of chemicals having a variety of effects. Some could be called poisons, or nutrients, or drugs, or all three.

Food additives are substances added to food for specific purposes, e.g., to enhance flavor or inhibit microbial growth. Until the 1958 Food Additives Amendment, it was relatively easy to get additives approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA); the burden of proof of safety was on the FDA.

The 1958 amendment shifted the burden of proof to the manufacturer, and relatively few additives have been approved since. The GRAS (Generally Regarded As Safe) list—of additives which had already been in use for years without apparent harm—also came into being at that time. Since 1997, some additives have been added to the GRAS list.

Food additives are tested extensively for possible hazardous effects, including cancer. Typically, they are first screened in tissue cells or bacteria, and then tested in large doses in animals. The use of huge doses to predict effects of low doses is debated, but there isn’t yet a practical alternative. We should keep in mind that there’s a lot of uncertainty in the whole process, so the decisions tend to err on the side of safety.

Food additives typically are added in small amounts. Olestra differs—it can make up the bulk of the food. Chemically, it’s a fat, but nutritionally it isn’t, since we can’t digest or absorb it—hence, zero calories. Olestra makes possible fat-free or low-fat versions of foods like french fries, cheese, salad dressings, etc., that taste like the regular high-fat versions. Olestra broke new ground as a food additive, so the FDA was extra-cautious in giving its approval. It’s allowed only in certain snack foods like chips and crackers, but is now used mostly as industrial lubricants, due to consumer-resistance for its use in food.

Pesticides used on our food crops are another big consumer concern. Experts regard the scant amount in our food supply as safe but, regardless, the aim is to use as little as possible to get the job done and to find practical alternatives.

One of the best approaches is Integrated Pest Management (IPM), in which pest control is customized for specific pests of specific crops in specific locations. It minimizes pesticide use and uses what’s needed in the most effective way possible, taking into account the most vulnerable stage of an insect’s life cycle, local weather conditions, etc.

An ancient tool used to give plants natural pest resistance is the exchange of the plants’ genes through crossbreeding. A more recent tool is the use of biotech to transfer specific genes from one plant to another.

Microbial food hazards make millions of us sick each year. Young children and older adults are particularly vulnerable, as are people with an impaired immune system. There are many disease-causing microbes. Three basic rules in prevention are: Keep them out (e.g., sanitation, good personal hygiene), keep them from growing (e.g., keep food cold or hot), and kill them (e.g., thorough cooking, irradiation).

HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points) is a systemized food safety procedure used by an increasing segment of the food production and food service industries. When HACCP is mandated for certain foods in this country, it’s also mandated for foreign companies that export these foods to the U.S.

Foodborne illnesses sicken tens of millions of people each year in the U.S., and are mostly preventable. The Food Safety Moderization Act has been a big step toward making food safer. Its main focus is on prevention.

Consumer education can vastly improve food safety. The public needs to be able to look objectively at risks, weigh risks vs. benefits, and thereby make best use of the limited resources available for food-safety concerns. The public, government, food industry, and food scientists alike all share a common goal of safe, nutritious, tasty, and plentiful food at affordable prices.