A recent Governing article
discusses the state of food safety in the United States and specifically, how
food safety has improved since the federal Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) launched its PulseNet surveillance system in 1996.
PulseNet is
a network of 83 federal, state, and local public health laboratories that
collect samples and DNA from patients struck by foodborne illness and enter the
information into a nationwide data repository.
This data helps over 3,000 local, state, and federal agencies identify
links between outbreaks occurring in multiple states. PulseNet was largely created in response to a
1993 E.coli outbreak linked to undercooked hamburgers sold by Jack in the Box
restaurants. Four children died and over
700 people were infected.
According
to a study
published in The American Journal of
Preventive Medicine, PulseNet annually prevents a quarter million illnesses
and saves half a billion dollars in medical costs and lost worker productivity. The implementation of PulseNet along with
other food safety measures implemented by the CDC, U.S. Department of
Agriculture, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and within the food industry decreased
the number of E.coli infections nationwide by approximately 50% from 1997 to
2011.
