Chapter 9

Compared with several decades ago, how common are food-related illnesses today?
Food-related illnesses have hugely grown. On average, 200,000 people are sickened by a food borne diseases. More than a quarter of the American population suffers from a food borne disease. It has risen the past few decades.

How has the centralization of food production influenced the spread of food-related illnesses?
A disease can easily be spread through food because one infected cow can end up in 100 different burgers. That one cow causes 100 peoples’ sickness.

What authority does the U.S. Government have to demand the recall of tainted meat?
The U.S. Government has almost no power to shut down a meatpacking company to remove the contaminated ground beef. This is because meatpacking has close ties to Republican members in Congress.

What are most of the microbes in meat spread by?
The microbes in meat are mainly spread by feces.

What was the first national hamburger chain & what did it do to try to change the image of the hamburger?
White Castle was the first national hamburger chain from the 1920’s. It was an easy-to-chew finger food for kids.

What are the effects of E. coli 0157:H7 on the human body?
E. coli on the human body causes abdominal cramps, watery, bloody diarrhea, low fever, and coughing.

What are some of the ways people can be infected with E. coli 0157:H7?
Mostly people become infected by eating undercooked beef.

What kinds of things are fed to cattle, things that might facilitate the spread of pathogens?
Things that are fed to cattle that might facilitate the spread of pathogens are sprouts, salad greens, cantaloupe, salami, raw milk, and unpasteurized apple cider. Or they could have simply come in contact with an infected animal’s feces.

How does the risk of contamination for ground beef compare with the risk of contamination of whole cuts of beef?
Ground beef has a higher chance of being infected because in one package, there could be 100 different cows grounded up in it. Only 1 out of 100 is what it would take to harm a human. Whereas a whole cut is from one cow.

Why is the author concerned about the use of older dairy cattle to make ground beef?
Older dairy cattle are susceptible to carry pathogens.

How has the meatpacking industry generally responded to health concerns about the nation's beef?
The meatpacking industry respond to health concerns about the nation beef for various reasons. The meatpacking companies that deny any responsibility for what happended, and they say there is never any reason to be concerned about the cattles health.

What was the Streamlined Inspection System launched by the USDA?
The Streamlined Inspection System launched by the USDA was an attempt to maximize the inspection process through which the meat plants had the ability to inspect their own meat. Instead of using an opposed outside force to do it themselves.

How did the Jack In The Box restaurant chain respond to its outbreak of salmonella?
The Jack in the Box restaurant chain responded to this outbreak by having a new outlook on food safety. Jack in the Box became the first of all the other fast food chains to begin to buy meat only from the two meat processing plants that were more safe.

What criticisms does the author have of the current recall system for tainted meat?
Schlosser says that they need to be public eith these recalls. The government has no control over it, but he believes they should.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of irradiating meat?
The advantage is it kills off all the bacteria in the meat. A disadvantage is that the companies could potentially ignore sanitation ignorantly believing that the irradiating ability will leave no chance of infection.

What kind of meat is selected for consumption in public schools?
The meat that public schools buy is the cheap meat. Meat that is not completely meat, but filled with hormones and other fillers.