COMMENTS BY LAURA DAY AT MARCH 2002 S.T.O.P. RALLY

     When I became a victim of foodborne illness in 1993, food safety regulations had changed little since Upton Sinclair penned The Jungle at the turn of the last century.  The look, sniff and poke method did not help processors identify the bacteria that hospitalized me for seven weeks and nearly took my life.  We have made tremendous strides in food safety over the last decade, largely due to a few dedicated individuals and organizations like S.T.O.P.  However, in recent months, we have witnessed a rapid erosion of standards and enforcement capabilities.  The USDA now lacks the ability to close plants whose products repeatedly fail salmonella tests, and listeria reduction policies conceived under the Clinton administration are being delayed.

    These alarming setbacks come at a time when most Americans have a heightened concern about safety on many levels.  The potential threat of food and beverage contamination by a terrorist group pales when compared to the real threat of foodborne disease that already exists.  Each year the US sees 76 million cases of foodborne disease and 5,000 deaths according to CDC estimates.  We believe that these estimates are conservative.

     The destruction caused by E.coli, salmonella, listeria and other contaminants is widespread and long-term.  Foodborne disease has devastated communities, families and lives.  I lost almost a year of my life to the illness and recovery.  My parents struggled trying to decide where their 18-year-old daughter would want to be buried.  When the ordeal was over, I had lost my spleen, my hair, a boyfriend, a normal immune system and a semester of college and had gained a quarter of a million dollars in medical bills and battle scars.  The effects of these diseases go far beyond the physical.  It has been more than eight years since my illness, and I still think about it every day.  And I am still angry that it could have been prevented. 

         I was a victim of foodborne disease.  I am a survivor.

     Properly cooking food should not be considered an alternative to uncontaminated food.  What is the proper way to cook salmonella or feces in the form of E.coli?  I have yet to find a recipe for either in my Betty Crocker cookbook.  Safe handling and safe cooking are still important, but it is time to take the burden of safe food off of mothers, fathers and food service employees and put it where it belongs ë on the shoulders of manufacturers and processors who provide our food and the government agencies who can ensure they do it right.

     I do not ask for tighter controls and greater enforcement capabilities because I am angry that I suffered.  And I do not ask this administration and industry to ensure the safety of our food in order to avoid negative publicity.  I ask for these things because it is the right thing to do.  But just in case you need some motivation, I will be watching.  We all will be watching.