Why Eating Local Could Help Prevent Widespread Food Disease Outbreaks
As if a coronavirus pandemic weren’t enough, more than 1,000 people in 47 states got infected with salmonella in July from onions grown in California and sent to distributors, wholesale suppliers and stores across the country. Then along with the delight that is summer peach season came another salmonella outbreak, which made 78 people in 12 states sick in August.
Both instances of contamination triggered nationwide recalls (peaches were also recalled in Canada, Singapore and New Zealand). The U.S. Food and Drug Administration cautioned consumers to throw away any onions or peaches of unknown provenance or any that may have comingled with tainted produce in the supermarket bin. For most shoppers, given how little information we have on where our food comes from, that could translate to: Toss out all your onions and your peaches, too.
“It is certain that the contaminated peaches were distributed widely through large retail chains and under a variety of brands and in bulk. This makes it more difficult for the consumers to quickly understand what products to look out for,” said Sanja Ilic, an Ohio State University associate professor and food safety state specialist.
When produce is shipped all around the country, any dangerous bacteria it harbors can sicken people who live hundreds or thousands of miles from where it was grown. While sticking to stringent safety standards is the best way to prevent foodborne illness, Ilic told HuffPost, eating more locally produced food could keep outbreaks from spreading far and wide.
Some 48 million Americans get sick every year by eating contaminated foods, according to estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Salmonella is one of the most common culprits, causing more than 30 multistate outbreaks in the last five years through a variety of foods from cucumbers and melons to frozen tuna and ground beef.
“The risk starts at farm level where produce can be contaminated via contaminated...
