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Taco Bell, E. coli and the fast food nation

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Yum Brands' (NYSE:YUM) Taco Bell now says that the food at all of its restaurants is safe. The green onions suspected as the source of the recent E. coli outbreak in the northeast are gone, and the company has switched suppliers in the region. Over 50 people have ended up in the hospital as a result of the E. coli outbreak, but there is hope that the worst is past, despite the fact the bacteria has surfaced in a Taco Bell in New York City.

The question is why E. coli continues to be such a threat to consumers throughout the country. In today's New York Times, Eric Schlosser addresses the issue. Schlosser is the author of Fast Food Nation, a fascinating and at times alarming look at the fast food industry and its place in American culture. He argues that changes in the way food is produced in the US over the last 40 years have raised the odds of widespread outbreaks of E.coli and other food-borne pathogens.

One big change is the concentration of producers. Food in the US is now produced by a few large corporations, rather than many smaller ones. For example, today 13 slaughterhouses produce most of the meat eaten by Americans. This means that once there is a problem, it tends to spread far and wide within a large company's national network. Years ago, when producers were smaller, problems in the food supply chain would remain local.

The second big change is in the food safety system. Large food corporations have fought relentlessly to reduce the number and frequency of federal inspections. In the 1970s, the Food and Drug Administration made 35,000 food safety inspections per year. Today, there are less than 3,400. And the number of inspectors has fallen by roughly 20%.

So the solution to the problem seems fairly obvious. Given the growth of the food network, we need more food safety inspectors. And there needs to be real penalties for producers who break the rules. This runs contrary to the American suspicion of government, but if the government doesn't monitor the safety of the food system, who will? As Schlosser writes, "whether you're a Republican or a Democrat, you still have to eat." And eating without worrying about E.coli seems like something worth paying for.

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Last updated: November 25, 2009: 08:07 AM

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