US One of Top Five Food Safety Violators

Findings based on contamination levels collected between 2003 and 2008 identified China as the number one food safety threat.

Courtesy: usda.gov

(LONDON / SALEM) - A new global monitoring tool identifies the United States as one of the top five worst food safety offenders in the world. We take rank with China, Turkey, Iran, and Spain.

This extensive integrated network was designed by Kingston University researchers to offer an instant snapshot of the state of food safety around the world.

The rankings were established through electronic tracking of countries that issue the most food safety alerts and those that produce the greatest number of faulty or contaminated foods.

Findings based on contamination levels collected between 2003 and 2008 identified China as the number one food safety threat.

The comprehensive system was unveiled in February at a meeting of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

All countries collectively issue tens of thousands of food alerts each year, say the developers. This creates an urgent need to filter the enormous body of information to highlight where to place concentrated efforts. They reported that the program would help countries identify food safety transgressors and process a high volume of recall data.

"With increased international trade, the right of the citizen to an adequate diet emphasizes the importance of coherent government responses to food safety and security", reports say.

The interactive tool allows users to quickly access global food safety information with a wide range of report patterns. Graphs allow users to see food safety patterns and compare them to those of other countries.

Professor Declan Naughton, one of the system's developers, told Medical News that the new program is unrivaled in its ability to analyze food safety data. "No other system can reflect the complexity of this information in a snapshot form," he said. "It can be particularly helpful to developing countries new to food testing because information is easy to access and available in minutes."

Researchers say they recognized a growing need for the program because of wide variations in food safety monitoring in developed and undeveloped countries. The site explains that weekly food alerts and recalls can provide vital information for immediate response.

The system generates comprehensive information to assess long-term patterns and trends that can help countries formulate plans of action.

Naughton believes the model could have even broader applications. "We'd like to develop the tool to create an international alert system that will provide real time information about emerging patterns and problems."

Developers report that their system was developed to aid the Beijing Declaration on food safety and security that was signed by over fifty countries to help build a comprehensive program for monitoring food safety and security on behalf of their citizens.

The tool is available online at: Food alert networks staffnet.kingston.ac.uk

Full Report: Network Analytical Tool for Monitoring Global Food Safety Highlights China

Sources: Nepusz T, Petróczi A, Naughton DP: Network analytical tool for monitoring global food safety highlights China. PLoS ONE 4(8):e6680, 2009. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0006680.

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April Scott has been an avid writer since she learned how to spell. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Criminology with a minor in Radio-Television from Eastern Washington University. Her media career began at KXLY (Spokane, Wa) in 1996. She produced several popular talk shows on AM 920 including “All About Crime” with host Mark Fuhrman. April also produced the highly successful Rick Miller show, while simultaneously developing a successful career in ad sales and copywriting for Rock 94.5, another KXLY station.