E. Coli Outbreak In Germany Raises Questions About Food Safety

23:00

June 07, 2011

A man carries cucumbers collected for destruction at a greenhouse compound outside Bucharest, Romania, Monday. (AP)

With 23 dead, hundreds hospitalized and still no known culprit in the E. coli outbreak in Germany, one thing is clear: the importance food safety is paramount. But in a global market, how can one be confident that the local food supply is safe?

Radio Boston takes a look at E. coli outbreaks in the U. S. — including the Jack In The Box crisis in which four children died and 700 were sickened — as well as current food safety policies in Massachusetts and the rest of the country.

Guests:

Jeff Benedict, author, "Poisoned: The True Story of the Deadly E. coli Outbreak That Changed the Way Americans Eat"
David Theno, food safety consultant; former senior vice president and chief product safety officer, Jack In The Box
Susan Reef, managing editor, USFoodSafety.com

More:

CommonHealth: Six Facts About E. Coli From An Expert On Tainted Food
NPR: U.S. Vulnerable To E. Coli Outbreak Like The One In Europe

This segment aired on June 7, 2011.