I disagree 100%, we'd probably raise our own or demand a lot of changes in food safety. It's the industrialization of food production that's really disgusting, especially chicken plants!

I read a Consumer Reports article years ago about pot pies. I haven't eaten a prepared one since. They found a whole grasshopper in one and that chicken pot pie still passed food safety standards. I'll make one at home though!

I get 95% of my meat from a local butcher right now the road who processes locally raised livestock. I know how they are raised and processed.

If peope would just wipe down with bleach and cook good there would be no problem.

Do either of you understand that there would be a significantly higher rate of starvation if the food system was not the way it is?? The industrialization of food production was created by the need to feed the people of America. If we stuck to being organic vegetarians there would not be enough food to even come close to feeding enough people. Explain how that would be a smart thing to do. I am a part of the current food system and the most annoying thing about it is that the public thinks they know everything about what's wrong with the food system. Not to mention the fact that people can't figure out how to cook their food properly then blame the producers for their mistake. Do your research before you claim to know the solution.

Come on Jeff!

Have you ever been through a processing plant? I am not talking about producers, I am talking about the plants the process the food.

We have antiquated food laws over beef that allow whole sides to hang complete with the hides so an government inspector can sign off on the fact that they didn't substitute something else for beef. If there is a production problem, the line stops and the sides start swaying. They can touch each other and contaminate the lesser outside cuts with E-coli from the attached hides. These lesser cuts are typically turned into hamburger. The E-coli gets into the grinding equipment and contaminates tons of beef. They do take samples for cultures but the beef gets shipped before the results are back. Yes there are more modern plants that don't have this problem but it still happens.

I seriously doubt you have ever stepped foot in a chicken processing plant. Spend a day around one and tell me how good our system is for the consumer. Even better, spend a hour in the waste water area and watch what floats by the person who has a stick to get the crap out and a clip board to record what he found. Even better, don't go because you would probably puke from the sights and smells and read their logs. If it isn't a piece of metal it doesn't matter. I know personally people have found live chickens making it through the whole plant and turn up half dead in waste water. Do you think that chicken held it's bowels as it traveled through the plant? Follow that up with a hour of clean up after hours and tell me how great our chicken processing plants are.

I don't even trust frozen fish anymore. They can legally label something "catfish" and it could come out of the Mekong in SE Asia which is basically an open sewer. Frozen fish quality has taken a nose dive the past decade as more and more of it is brought in from SE Asia and China. And guess what? Our government allows the Chinese fish in our international waters in the Bering Sea. How's that for free trade sticking in our backs?

Our producers are the great, our food industry sucks with the full blessing of the government and we buy it gladly.

Organic is not as easily accessible or affordable. Just use PLAIN COMMON SENSE. Wash and cook thoroughly. And eat in moderation.

Well, it seems that if the standard cooking safety rules are followed and storing safety rules followed, there shouldn't be much of a problem. It seems like most of the cases are the result of restaurant food anyway.

As far as becoming a vegetarian over it, no way. Now, I may decide in the future to get enough land to have a little farm for myself garden and raise some chickens and other meat animals. That would probably be healthier, but I haven't gotten food poisoning yet (or at least a case that required hospitalization, i'm sure there are some cases where the infected person can't even tell) so I don't feel worried about it.

I also agree that the food processing system is lacking in safety standards. The inspectors are probably lacking in inspecting and fining too.

Having been raised on a farm, many years ago, I know the eating habits of range feed animals and poultry. Cows eat the grass that they have urinated on, pigs rout for grubs,insects, and roots,they have also been known to eat live birds (ala Ozzie Davis). Chickens, the filthiest of all in my mind, often engage in cannibalism, and eat the feces of other animals. Turkeys are very much the same as chickens. Ducks and geese rout in ponds and marshes for worms, and aquatic plants, also they poullute the very water that they are feeding in. Water poullted by live stock is often ingested by the same animals.The fecal waste from the various farm animals (manure) is then spread over the fields as "ORGANIC FERTILIZER". Yes those over priced, yet delicious, fruits and vegetables that you rave about are grown in something you would go out of your way to avoid. Frankly I'm quite pleased to know that we can enjoy "BETTER LIVING THROUGH CHEMISTRY".

remove all eggs from the market and create a 6 month moratorium on egg production.

this "egg problem" has the potential to affect or otherwise sicken with deadly potential more people than the gulf oil spill.

this company has never been inspected. I thought all "food related companies" had to be periodically inspected. also this company is a repeat offender.

we can't let the food sector make their own rules and operate "wily nilly" without the safety of all Americans considered.

don't they have any rules?

don't these high paid executives at these companies have a responsibility to the American people.

who do they think they are. why do they think that they can operate outside the law. who is monitoring these people. don't these employees working in these egg facilities have rules as regulations to follow.

these are probably the same people who are paying politicians to let these mexicans thru the border so that they can get cheap labor.

*To better quantify the impact of foodborne diseases on health in the United States, we compiled and analyzed information from multiple surveillance systems and other sources. We estimate that foodborne diseases cause approximately 76 million illnesses, 325,000 hospitalizations, and 5,000 deaths in the United States each year. Known pathogens account for an estimated 14 million illnesses, 60,000 hospitalizations, and 1,800 deaths. Three pathogens, Salmonella, Listeria, and Toxoplasma, are responsible for 1,500 deaths each year, more than 75% of those caused by known pathogens, while unknown agents account for the remaining 62 million illnesses, 265,000 hospitalizations, and 3,200 deaths. Overall, foodborne diseases appear to cause more illnesses but fewer deaths than previously estimated.

*the egg problem has the potential to affect or otherwise sicken more people than the gulf spill.

take them off of the market before anyone else gets sick.

create a 6 month moratorium and launch a complete investigation to find out the cause and verify a remedy.

*how much money are these politicians getting paid by the egg producers to look the other way.

*illegal invader workforce

*not able to produce a clean useable product

*ignoring rules and regulations

does the FDA even monitor these egg production facilities.

**do they have rules and regulations or are they just operating "willy nilly" and doing pretty much whatever they want.

if forcing these egg producers to put a product on the shelf that is free of illness causing bacteria is going to cost an extra .50 cents a dozen then i'm all for it.

we should halt production, create a 6 month moratorium and actually inspect the health of every chicken before allowing these unruly chicken farmers to continue.

**either that or kill all of the chickens, burn them to reduce the risk of further contamination and throw out all of the feed and start over.

as sad as it was only 11 people died in the oil spill.

every year 1500 people in the US die from Salmonella, Listeria, and Toxoplasma.

we didn't have these problems when Bush was in office.

this is exactly what happens when government takes over our lives. good luck all and may God protect us from this socialist/tyrant government.

I'd like to see where you are getting your numbers. Accordoing to the most recent USDA numbers poultry consumption isn't even double that of beef consumption. If you take in to consideration the amount of poultry items that are fully-cooked/ready-to-eat i.e. lunchmeat, hotdogs (yes the popular brands are mostly chicken), etc., it is likely fair to say that poultry is the #1 cause of FBI's. All that being said, I'm far less concerned about getting sick from the grilled chicken I had for supper than the salad. There are far more microbial interventions in a meat plant than a raw vegetable plant.

Agree with Farmboy. Where are you getting your stats? My guess is you are not including ground beef. The stats Ive seen show beef consumption to be twice that of chicken. And if you have ever tried to process beef you would find the regulations to be exhausting.

Well Said!!!!!!!!!

Amen, I couldn't have said it better myself =)

Well said! Articles like these just spur more unnecessary anxiety ect....

How has the human race survived all these millennia without refrigeration, antibiotics, the

FDA and all of the dooms-day advocates ?

They married young and died young lol.

To Theenlightendone, there is plenty of truth in what you say. However, I think we can be MUCH stricter on food inspections on the two lowest levels. I mean processing plants and restaurants. Remember most of these employees are coming from countries that do not have our stringent standards. They're hired because they're cheap help. Cheap aint right. We want everything cheap and this is what happens. Tell me something, how much is your life worth? Is it replaceable?

But they die in them!

Major mud did you learn something from that ordeal?like maybe you should make sure the meat was cooked correctly. If you cook poultry properly you wouldn't have to worry about any food poisoning, lessen learned. follow the cooking directions along with temperatures and times needed to cook. food for thought

Keep a clean counterspace and clean dishes/boards too. The simple, easy, saving-from-pain steps kids learn young.

Were the wings from like a deli? Or were they boxed? If they were from the deli, they were probably mishandled an dleft out too long. I would advicde not eating from that deli again. If from a box, you should go over all safety rules for cooking and make sure you follow the directions on the box.

Truly you have never eaten out where other people are preparing your food???? Common sense isn't always an issue when you aren't the one preparing the food.... The only time I have ever been sick from food is from outside preparation (restaurants)....and only with seafood and chicken.

A year ago I ate in a high end restaurant in a prestigious summer colony in Maine--my food was served on a dirty dish, which I promptly returned to the staff. It was courteously replaced and I went home thinking all was well, until a really bad cramping began. The story ends 7 days later and a diagnosis of a campilobacter infection that cost me a week in lost pay, $800 in bills and a lot of pain and suffering. I am still having residual effects from this--every little virus gives me another round of illness--and the doctors say "that's normal after such an infection"--phooey. No place is immune from improper handling of food products. And the workers don't gave a dam, they're just taking home a paycheck.

Holly so what food caused your illness? a dirty plate does not constitute bacteria, if the plate went through a industrial dish washer it will heat ur up to 180 degrees which will kill all bacteria. Did you have a salad with your meal? try steamed veggies instead of raw remember the right heat will kill those bad bugs.

Some people live in fear, it's wrong to say "Americans". I'm an American and I don't live in fear. I read an article like this and say "Psh, whatever. If I get sick I get sick, but I'll take every precaution to cook my food and prepare my food well." That's not fear.

Thank god someone else said this. I too have had plenty of rounds over the years with rare or raw beef, uncooked or undercooked eggs, sushi, and other foods NOT prepared according to USDA guidelines. And I've never had any serious illness.

Bottom line is, the odds are AGAINST anyone getting sick from any of these things, but life is not risk-free. Get over it and live your lives. The actual risk of contracting salmonella from an egg is something like 1 in 20,000, yet here everyone's freaking out (sorry, bad joke on the way) like Chicken Little because there happened to be a large incident just now. I understand for those of you that are older, are serving food to small children, or have immune system issues (all groups for whom foodborne illness can be a serious issue), but everyone else here is whigging out over the facts of life.

Please keep in mind there are nutritional issues caused by following some of these recommendations too closely also. Overcooking meat (and this can include just cooking it to the recommended levels) can lead to higher levels of carcinogens in the meat. Cooking your veggies to prevent illness destroys many important nutrients. Some research suggests that eggs are not healthy when cooked conventionally and are much healthier only lightly cooked (though there's conflicting data on this). It may make more sense to strengthen your immune system and eat yogurt and a high-fiber diet, all things that protect against food poisoning and help you bounce back from it if indeed you get it. And use some common sense in buying stuff--organic and small farm operations can still cause FBIs but many of the practices of large-scale industrial operations do increase the risk considerably, and at the very least they seem to have more cross-contamination issues.

Esteban, what makes you think a local farmer is anymore aware of bacterial infection prevention than anyone else?

...or make sure you cook it. Pork can cause illness when undercooked. Chicken can cause illness when undercooked. Beef can cause illness when undercooked. Anything can get bacteria on it, so I think you should either stop eating all together or learn how to properly store, clean, and cook food.

Water CAN have dangerous things in it :P I purify my tap water at home (tastes better) but I have no qualms about drinking tap water (though the advanced countries don't have a lot to worry about). Go to any pond, river, or lake and you'll find a lot of microscopic animals in it, too many to count. Any one of those could cause sickness. Could even have chemicals in it (from runoff of farms and cities). People just need to learn to follow safety directions :\

if salmonella is in the soil in high enough concentration (like from manure), the hydraulics could allow the bacteria to enter the roots through the phloem and then into stem and fruit. plants don't have anatomy similar to a 'blood brain barrier'.