This is the time of years when the food sections of nearly every newspaper and food website will contain articles on food safety and tips to make sure your holidays are disease-free. No matter, the odds are that there will be plenty of day-after stories of people eating under-cooked turkey, raw oysters, or some other ill-prepared or contaminated food.
One of the questions we discussed in our unit on food safety was who exactly is responsible when these foodborne disease outbreaks occur. Is it the consumer who may not have followed the instructions? Or is it the manufacturer, processor, restaurant, or retailer who sold contaminated foods? What about the government who is supposed to keep us safe?
Another issue we discussed was the issue of safety and the level of risk we are willing to assume. Can foods ever be 100% safe? What level of exposure is reasonable?
One thing is certain, if the government was to said no poultry (raw or otherwise) should contain any Salmonella or Campylobacter, none of us would be eating turkey next week. Where do you think the balance is between the benefits and potential burdens of such food safety regulations?