Review of State Plans for Food Safety: Is Our Food Supply Really Safe?

Background: Unintentional food contamination is a pressing public health concern. Tainted food products resulting from unhealthy field and production practices have recently resulted in morbidity and mortality throughout the country. The purpose of this study is to review states' plans for food safety, evaluate adherence to current recommendations and discuss the relationships between government and private industry to protect the public from food contamination.

Methods: Using the November 2007 “Food Protection Plan” developed by the Department of Health and Human Services and the Food and Drug Administration, we compared eight recommended areas of prevention, intervention and response to current state plans. Individual websites of the Departments of Agriculture and Departments of Health for each state were searched to obtain copies of the most recent version of food safety plans.

Results: All 50 states maintained response plans that addressed at least one of the recommended areas of prevention. While steps for identifying contamination were frequently included, increased surveillance and prevention practices were incorporated less often. Additionally, there was little evidence of formal communications or training opportunities with neighboring states, despite the overlap in food supplies and transportation of food across state lines; this was also true for private industry.

Conclusion: Given the morbidity and mortality associated with recent food contaminations, there is a need for greater vigilance in protecting the food supply. State governments must work with neighboring states and private industry to create an improved system of prevention and response, incorporating recommendations and developing new ways to protect the public.