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Economic Research Service/USDA
An Economic Assessment of Food Safety Regulations
the population increases and ages and the number of
immunocompromised people increases, the pool of
people susceptible to microbial foodborne illness seems
certain to grow. Other factors can cause an increase in
overall risk as well.
Two factors critical to preventing foodborne illness are
correct handling of food and cooking to appropriate
temperatures. USDA, in 1994, required all fresh meat
and poultry products sold at retail or handled by
foodservice workers to carry labels advising safe han-
dling and proper cooking precautions. Consumers are
not always able to take precautions to prevent foodborne
illness, however, when they consume food in restaurants
or institutional settings. According to USDA food con-
sumption and expenditure data, between 1970 and 1993,
the proportion of the food dollar consumed away from
home rose from 34 percent of total food expenditure to
almost 47 percent (Putnam and Allshouse, 1996). As
more food is consumed away from home, consumers will
have less control over the safety of their food intake. The
potential for large-scale outbreaks is greater (and the
potential benefits of pathogen control are larger) when
more people are eating away from home.
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