Problems with food safety protection are rampant

A watchdog report by Justina Wang of the Democrat and Chronicle (Rochester, N.Y.) looks at how the latest salmonella contamination exposes vulnerabilities in the protection of U.S. food safety.  Despite calls for stricter oversight, the system remains inadequate. The article points out that "federal officials hold little power to force recalls or oversee the daily production in a plant. Add to that the slow process of identifying a nationwide outbreak, the arduous guess-and-check work to trace the origin of the contaminant and the long lapse in time from the first illness to the first recall."

 In the latest installment of their ongoing 18-month investigation, Susanne Rust and Meg Kissinger of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel found that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency routinely allows companies to keep new information about their chemicals secret, including compounds that have been shown to cause cancer and respiratory problems. The newspaper examined more than 2,000 filings in the EPA's registry of dangerous chemicals for the past three years. In more than half the cases, the EPA agreed to keep the chemical name hidden from public view. In hundreds of other cases, it allowed the company filing the report to keep its name and address confidential. This is despite a federal law calling for public notice of any new information through the EPA's program monitoring chemicals that pose substantial risk. The whole idea of the program is to warn the public of newfound dangers.

Here's the link to the whole series. 

An Associated Press analysis of federal drug data shows the U.S. government has spent over $200 million since 2004 on drugs that have not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration. In some instances, these unapproved medications have been linked to deaths. While Medicaid is not supposed to cover unapproved drugs, the FDA does not have a comprehensive list of the banned medications. Medicaid can continue to pay for the medication until it is officially taken off the market by the FDA, a protracted process that can take years.

Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel's Susanne Rust and Meg Kissinger, as part of their ongoing series Chemical Fallout, found that products labeled as “microwave safe” release toxic doses of the chemical bisphenol A when heated. The newspaper had a University of Missouri laboratory test 10 products to see if the chemical bisphenol A leached out of containers when heated. The tests found that that BPA leached out of every product tested – in some cases at levels known to cause harm in laboratory animals. The highest levels were found in Enfamil baby formula and a Rubbermaid storage container.

Alison Young of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution found that the airline regulation language protecting animal safety excludes the thousands of animals transported by breeders, farms, laboratories and pet stores. The U.S. Department of Transportation defines the word “animal” to mean one “that is being kept as a pet in a family household in the United States,” and requires airlines to report any animal injury or death occurring while in transit. The loophole allows airlines to leave the deaths or injuries of animals owned by businesses to go unreported.

An investigation by Leah Beth Ward of the Yakima Herald-Republic (Yakima, Wash.) reveals that evidence of area groundwater contamination has long been ignored. "A little noticed scientific study six years ago found that one in five of 195 wells tested outside five Lower Valley communities contained levels of nitrates above federal safety limits...Responsibility for keeping groundwater and drinking water clean is divided among at least five different state and federal agencies, which often have conflicting missions." Poor coordination efforts, a lack of funding and legal loopholes all contribute to the failed management of the issue. A map of area wells identifies the types of contaminants that have been found.

Christine Byers of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has found that Missouri and Illinois have some of the highest numbers of known methamphetamine labs, yet both states fail to ensure that former labs get decontaminated when properties are seized.  Additionally, there are no laws mandating that new residents are notified of potential contamination before moving into the homes despite national experts' warning of the health risks of living in the contaminated spaces.

Liane Hansen and Jenni Bergal of NPR caution used car buyers to check their cars for signs of air bag fraud. In their investigation, they found that some car dealers and body shops either removed air bags from cars or did not replace deployed air bags. Air bag compartments were often stuffed with items such as packing peanuts or, in other cases, were left empty. No public or private organization keeps track of  the number deaths and injuries resulting from air bag fraud, though Hansen and Bergal highlight two cases in their article.

Brian Joseph of the Orange County Register reports that the nation's largest water district has known for eight years about uranium contamination at the site of a proposed groundwater storage project, but failed to disclosed this information to key officials or the public. "The top official at the water district says the contamination is isolated and the water can be diluted with clean Colorado River water to the point that it's not a problem. He said that everyone who needed to know about the contamination was told about it."  The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California intends to move forward with the project at this site.

Robert Pear of The New York Times reports that 94 percent of nursing homes in the United States violated federal health and safety standards in 2007 according to a recently released federal study. Although only 17 percent of nursing homes had violations that threatened the lives of residents, many were cited for abuse, neglect, confusing patients' medication and poor nutrition. The frequency and proportion of the problems ranged from state to state. Violations were reported in 76 percent of nursing homes in Rhode Island, while 100 percent of homes in Alaska, Idaho, Wyoming and the District of Columbia were cited in 2007.