WORK TOGETHER FOR SAFE FOOD SUPPLY

Each time a new incident occurs that calls into question the safety of the nation's food supply, an ongoing boxing match involving the food industry, consumers and the government is revived.

Most recently, beef patties were identified as the source of an E. coli outbreak in Colorado, and last spring 230 people were infected with hepatitis A through the Michigan school meals program.

Strawberries remain the suspected source of the hepatitis A outbreak, but that has not yet been confirmed. See, it's just as difficult to find the source of an outbreak as it is to prevent it.

That's what all the fighting is about. "Why couldn't it be prevented?" consumers inquire. "We're abiding by the regulations," say food companies. "The system is working," replies the U.S. government.

I plead with all parties involved: Let's stop the war and begin working together to achieve our common goal of maintaining the safest food supply in the world.

I know. Americans are tired of hearing we have the safest food supply. People are still getting sick, and one lost life due to contaminated food is one too many. I absolutely agree.

As a former U.S. secretary of agriculture, I hear and understand these concerns. But somehow we must move beyond the finger pointing and find realistic solutions. No matter ho well we are able to protect the food supply and, ultimately, the consuming public, we will likely never be able to provide food that is 100 percent safe.

While there may not be a magic-bullet solution, however, it will serve us all well to keep in mind the facts about food safety.

First of all, this country gets two thumbs up for its food protection system. Not only do we have two federal agencies -- the Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture -- overseeing the safe production of food, but when it comes to taking swift action to confine a food illness outbreak, the federal and state governments, in cooperation with the food industry, have a proven track record.

Consider the recent E. coli outbreak. Twenty-five million pounds of beef patties were recently recalled voluntarily by the company that processed that product. This massive recall reflected the potential for a huge number of illnesses, yet the victims numbered fewer than 20.

Furthermore, the food industry is one of the most regulated around. Just ask any food processor, or distributor for that matter, about the rules he or she must contend with. Surely their file on the subject is longer than the length of their arms. And that file is soon to grow. In January 1998, large meat and poultry processors must meet new Department of Agriculture requirements for food safety and sanitation.

Second, our enemies -- the bacteria and viruses that plague our food -- are incredibly hard to detect, even with the most sophisticated testing methods.

Michael T. Osterholm, state epidemiologist and chief of the Minnesota Department of Health's Acute Disease Epidemiology Section, wrote in Newsweek magazine that routine testing of food products will not provide a reliable way to detect every single episode of contamination. "It's like sticking your hand in one part of the haystack and saying the whole stack is free of needles," he said.

The simple fact is that there is no panacea. Obstacles to food safety will remain with us throughout our lifetime and beyond. Our job of monitoring the food supply will never end.

So let's put down our boxing gloves for just a moment and try to work together to ensure that our food supply remains the safest in the world. Or, if you insist on wearing those mitts, put them to good use by helping us knock out the real competition: E. coli, salmonella and the other bacteria that make us sick.

John R. Block is a former U.S. secretary of agriculture who is president of Food Distributors International.