You may think it is a bit ironic that I would pick an excerpt from Epidemiologic Principles and Food Safety the week after we announced that Locavore is the “word of the year” but I composed this post long before locavore mania began. Nevertheless, it does seem appropriate to question what the effects of technology have been on food safety. Tamar Lasky’s compilation of leaders in the fields of public heath and safety provides a unique look into a problem we often ignore, until we can’t. The book describes the various ways epidemiologic principles are applied to meet the challenges of maintaining a safe food supply and addresses both the prevention and control of foodborne illness. Below is the book’s forward by Allen J. Wilcox.
Food is much more than personal fuel—food creates community. We welcome friends and family into our homes with a meal. We celebrate important occasions with feasts. We carry food to those in mourning. We receive food as daily comfort. We don’t think of food as a risk.
But there is risk. (more…)