Poisons on Our Plates: The Real Food Safety Problem in the United States

by Morrone, Michele

• ISBN13: 9780313349751
• ISBN10: 0313349754
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2008-06-30
• Publisher: Greenwood Pub Group

Summary

The safety of our food supply is an environmental health issue that affects every American citizen. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that more than 76 million people in the United States suffer from foodborne illnesses every year. Microbiological contamination--bacteria, viruses, and parasites--is the leading cause of foodborne illness. Morrone faults the media for focusing the anxieties of the American public on such issues as irradiated food, genetically modified foods, and mad cow disease, while ignoring the microbial foodborne pathogens that are running amok in our food supply--except when point-source outbreaks of E. coli in spinach and green onions or salmonella in peanut butter sicken thousands of people at once.

Author Biography

Michelle Morrone is Associate Professor of Environmental Health Science and the Director of Environmental Studies at Ohio University.

Table of Contents

Series Foreword	p. ix
Introduction	p. xiii
Food Microbiology 101	p. 1
Vegetables Can Be Hazardous to Your Health	p. 25
Rotten Eggs and Peanut Butter	p. 45
Floating Viruses	p. 65
There Is Something in the Water	p. 81
Ready-to-Eat?	p. 99
Consumer Beware	p. 117
Unusual Priorities: From Bad Apples to Mad Cows	p. 133
Bibliography and Further Reading	p. 153
Index	p. 165
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.