Chapter 4 : See No Evil

Abstract:

Silence is never golden where food safety is concerned, and ignorance is never bliss. Fifty-three people were made ill—and eight of them died— because Pilgrim’s Pride and JL Foods flouted food safety rules. This chapter illustrates a few cases where companies have compromised on food safety rules. And USDA, which is both the promoter and the policeman of the U.S. agricultural industry, abrogated its responsibility to enforce those rules by closing its collective eyes, ears, and mouth to long-standing problems at both plants. Many companies regard microbiological testing of raw ingredients, environmental samples, and finished products as a nonproductive expense. Listeriosis, the most common disease syndrome caused by Listeria monocytogenes, has a long incubation period. L. monocytogenes also can be transmitted from one processing plant to another through the purchase and installation of used equipment. Jack Lambersky Poultry Company Inc ( JL Foods) had a prior history of L. monocytogenes in its finished product. On that basis alone, company management was required to incorporate L. monocytogenes into its Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) program under the 1999 review notice. Yet JL Foods ignored its past experience and claimed that it was not at significant risk for L. monocytogenes contamination. And, even though it knew the company’s history of L. monocytogenes-positive samples, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) silently acquiesced.