THE MENU FOODS story has had a particular fascination for Emporians. Some of the pet food recalled after it sickened or killed dogs and cats around the country was made at Emporia’s Menu plant.
What was surprising to most people was how many brands of pet food were involved in the recall — at last count, 51 brands of dog food and 40 brands of cat food, including some of the most familiar labels on supermarket shelves. The contamination of the pet food is turning into a textbook example of a problem that is becoming increasingly common in all food production. The consolidation of food production by large conglomerates makes it possible for one contaminated ingredient to wind up in food products sold nationwide.
Menu has said that it does not yet know what made the dogs and cats sick, but it suspects that the problem was in wheat gluten provided by one supplier. It is reasonable to assume that the supplier has other customers beside Menu.
Because of the speed of the production and distribution systems — intended to put the freshest food possible on the nation’s tables — food that is contaminated may well be sold and consumed before a problem is spotted.
USA Today published an article earlier this week on the problems the U.S. Food and Drug Administration faces in monitoring food shipments into the United States. By the time samples of a shipment of fresh produce have been tested — a time-consuming process — the shipment has already reached stores and been sold.
The suspicion is growing that — for both the FDA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture — the tools and techniques for ensuring food safety are lagging behind the speed of food production and distribution and the rapid expansion in the international food trade.
In the Menu Foods case, a problem with one ingredient from one supplier may have translated into a national problem in pet health.
The potential exists — and may be growing — for similar problems in the production of human food.
The realities of food production and distribution in the 21st century call for a food-safety system that is comprehensive, flexible and — above all — fast.
Patrick S. Kelley
Editorial Page Editor