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Illness from contaminated food, ranging from minor stomachaches and queasiness to life-threatening E. coli infections, are a serious public-health threat in the U.S., resulting in 5,000 deaths and 325,000 hospitalizations each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). When tallied up, the consequences of foodborne illness - including doctor visits, medication, lost work days and pain and suffering - cost the U.S. an estimated $152 billion annually. That figure was reported on Wednesday in a new study by the Produce Safety Project, an initiative of the Pew Charitable Trust...
Rather than relying on such underestimates, the Produce Safety Project study used CDC data showing that there are 76 million new cases of foodborne illness in the U.S. each year. Study author Robert Scharff, a professor at Ohio State University and a former FDA economist, then tried to account for the overall cost of illness, factoring in every expense, from onetime costs for prescription medication to losses in "quality of life" - a dollars-and-cents picture of exactly how miserable that bout with a bad falafel made you. "The study really illustrates just how serious foodborne illness...
...safety rarely gets the attention it deserves. That's partially because the food-safety system in the U.S. is impenetrably complex; some 15 federal agencies are responsible for keeping the nation's food supply safe, which means that oversight in many cases falls through the gaps between the FDA, CDC and USDA. The USDA, for instance, is responsible for the safety of meat and poultry; the FDA handles other cases of food contamination; and the CDC tracks human illness in general...
...physical interventions. Why?There is solid evidence that they work against all [flu viruses], not just specific strains [unlike the flu vaccine, as it is designed]. They are culturally acceptable and cheap, and they reduce transmission rates of other viruses too. A great American called Stephen Luby of the CDC has published a study from Karachi, Pakistan, that found that physical interventions are lifesavers. He should receive a Nobel Prize for his work, but I'm sure he never will...
...think your reviews have not filtered down to policymakers?In a separate study we looked at the science that policymakers use, and it's disturbing how large the gap is between policy and evidence. We looked at the World Health Organization, CDC and U.K., Australian and German authorities - they have what it is called a "citation bias." They cite some studies that support vaccines, but other studies that find no effect are left out. Most importantly, there is no critical appraisal of the methods. [Cochrane reviewers examine the methodology of all studies they include in their systematic reviews...