Summary of federal and state authority to address foodborne public health threats

Summary of federal and state authority to address foodborne public health threats

Introduction

One of the most critical issues that affect people in society is healthcare. Mainly, the modern world is fighting with the issues of diseases and infections that have caused loss of lives and used in natural resources that have subjected people to poverty. Nonetheless, society fails to understand that food and drinks consumed have a great impact on health. In that regard, many people have suffered numerous infections from the food they consume. The majority of these infections are identified as foodborne outbreak, especially when two or more people suffer from similar illness after consuming the same food or drinks. Thus, the Food and Drug administration investigates cases of foodborne outbreaks with an agenda of controlling them. Thus, the role of the FDA is to ensure that the outbreak is contained to prevent it from spreading to other people. According to the Food and Drug Administration, many foodborne outbreaks have been listed by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Therefore, the primary purpose of this paper is to develop a legal brief of a foodborne outbreak on the multistate outbreak of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (Escherichia coli).

Summary of federal and state authority to address foodborne public health threats

The federal and state authorities have been at the forefront of addressing foodborne public health threats. Mainly, federal and state authorities use local and state agencies to address these threats. In that legal, the federal authority uses public health officials to investigate foodborne outbreaks in major cities and county levels. The state authority uses the state health department to determine the spread of foodborne outbreaks. For example, on the multistate outbreak of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (Escherichia coli), the state authority in the United States investigated public health threats associated with consumption of beef-producing E. coli (Escherichia coli). Upon realizing the impact on the consumers, the state authority recalled bison, veal, and beef products to prevent further consumption. The federal authority continues to conduct frequent surveillance to prevent consumption of beef-producing E. coli (Escherichia coli) to protect consumers who did not know about this outbreak.

Moreover, the federal or state authority addresses foodborne public health threats by enacting laws to protect consumers of food products. Mainly, federal authority uses food law to ensure the safety of food through soft law, case law, rules and regulations regarding food. Therefore, the state and federal authorities address foodborne public health threats through criminal and administrative, private and public, national and international standards and provisions concerning food. For example, the multistate outbreak of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (Escherichia coli) was addressed by the federal authority using the legal act of the General Food Law and Regulation Act of 2017. According to this law, the federal authority addressed foodborne public health threats using three approaches. First, the law was used to offer a high level of protection to consumers on the food available for consumption. The law also obliged States to make sure that the food placed in the market for sale is safe for human consumption. Lastly, the law empowered federal authority to take care of plants, animal health, and protection of the environment that contributes highly to food consumed internationally.

Agencies responsible for addressing multistate outbreak of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (Escherichia coli)

Several agencies are empowered to address foodborne outbreaks. The core purpose of addressing these outbreaks is to contain them, thereby preventing them from spreading. On the issue of a multistate outbreak of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (Escherichia coli), several agencies are involved. The first critical players for addressing the outbreak are the Local, State, and Federal Agencies. Mainly, these agencies are part of the public health sector whose central purpose is identifying and investigating foodborne outbreaks. The three agencies play different roles based on the size and scope of the foodborne outbreak. In some cases, these agencies work together where an agency conducts preliminary investigations and other attempts to contain the outbreak using the available intervention measures.

First, local agencies deal with foodborne outbreaks that occur at the local level. Mainly, foodborne public health threats at the local level are addressed by public health officials in a city or a county. The primary purpose is to investigate the outbreak. Secondly, State agencies address foodborne outbreak threats at a higher level by investigating the outbreak of cities and counties. Mainly, the State agency tracks the outbreak by working closely with federal food safety agencies and the state department of agriculture. Lastly, the federal agency address the outbreak when the issue involves a large population or where the impacts of the outbreak are extremely severe. Thus, the Federal agency can seek help from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Similarly, a federal agency can work together with federal food safety agencies like the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Drug Administration, and Food Safety and Inspection Service. Collectively, these agencies can conduct investigations to prevent widespread of multistate outbreak of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (Escherichia coli).

Besides, the outbreak can be addressed by Outbreak Investigation Agencies. Mainly, these agencies are propelled by public health professionals such as epidemiologists who work as disease detective, microbiologists who work as laboratory scientists to study germs and pathogens causing the foodborne outbreak. Other agencies include environmental health specialists who work as inspectors in food selling points. Regulatory compliance inspectors also play a significant role in addressing the outbreak.

Upon the completion of investigations on the multistate outbreak of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (Escherichia coli), these agencies provided a response using action plans to prevent the spread in the outbreak. First, the Centers for Disease Control prevented retailers, restaurants, and consumers from serving, selling, or eating recalled veal, bison, and beef products. Besides, the consumers were informed that cooking recalled products would cause severe health issues. Thus, they were advised to dispose of recalled products by using sealed bags to prevent consumption by children and other animals. Lastly, all the consumers and retailers were recommended to check freezers for recalled products to prevent the spread of this foodborne outbreak.

Specific modifications to foodborne illness to enhance public safety

Foodborne illnesses are caused by contamination of food. Thus, consumers should wash their hands properly before consuming food. Besides, consumers can prevent food contamination when buying food from grocery stores by separating raw meat from other food products. Moreover, consumers should use different shopping bags when buying different food products to prevent food contamination. Also, consumers should prevent cross-contamination of food when refrigerating food by wrapping them separately. Overall, foodborne illness can occur when food is contaminated during food handling, preparation, and serving. Thus, I recommend proper handling, preparation, and serving by maintaining cleaning standards such as washing hands, washing serving tools, and preparing food on a clean surface.