Another View: Ways to make Food Industry safer

"I'm a food-borne illness lawyer, but I would be happy to be put out of business; happier still to never have to set foot in a pediatric ICU again," Bill Marler writes, laying out a comprehensive seven-point reform plan to address the sweeping increase in salmonella, E. coli and other outbreaks. His proposals target fragmented government agencies, inadequate inspections, poorly educated food handlers, and businesses "more focused on sales than safety." The plan includes: improved disease surveillance with direct reporting from ER physicians to CDC; better coordination between federal, state and local agencies; mandatory training and certification for food handlers with incentives for sick employees to stay home; strict licensing requirements for large operations; modernized food safety statutes replacing "the existing collection of often conflicting laws"; stiff fines and prison sentences for violators; and university research funding for better safety technologies and testing. The stakes justify urgent action: "According to the CDC, every year nearly a quarter of our population is sickened, 350,000 hospitalized and 5,000 die, because of what they ate. Many are children. Eaters are also voters—and parents. Our politicians should do the math." He frames the challenge clearly: "We now live in a global food supply and we need to come up with global solutions that leverage our scientific and technological capabilities to prevent human illness and death."