Consumer Press Catching On
It is said that every cloud has a silver lining, and if it can be said that there is an advantage to the length of time this Salmonella Saintpaul outbreak is continuing, it is that the consumer press is starting to become significantly better. The questions they pose to the FDA and CDC officials are […]
CDC Makes One Step Forward And Two Steps Back In Mapping Illnesses
It is has been said that there is no force more powerful than an idea whose time has come. So, here at the Pundit, we keep pushing good ideas and, in fact, often play a role in bringing about positive change. Just recently, for example, our piece, CDC’s Map Of Ill Persons Could Use Some […]
Pundit’s Mailbag — FDA’s Tomato Safety Initiative Revisited
On June 13, 2008, in the midst of the Salmonella Saint Paul Tomato Outbreak, one reader, either prescient or with a remarkable memory, thought to scan the Pundit archives: I thought it was interesting to note the following archive article, one year ago today! FDA Begins Tomato Safety Initiative Jim Prevor’s Perishable Pundit, June 13, […]
Can We Avoid This Mess In The Future?
There are two separate but related issues here: The first is how to structure an investigation to be more effective. Our interview with Dr. Michael T. Osterholm, pioneer in the investigation outbreaks in produce, made that clear: We need a defined chain of command. Right now, CDC passes the ball to FDA, which passes it […]
Why Have FDA And CDC Changed Their Tune? Perhaps They Read The Pundit’s Interview With Dr. Michael T. Osterholm
We don’t think it is a coincidence that the FDA and CDC started backtracking right after Dr. Michael T. Osterholm, a well-respected epidemiologist spoke out about the incompetence of the traceback. He was particularly pointed about CDC’s failure to do a traceback on the control group — which is the non-sick people who had been […]
Thinking Outside The (Fresh Tomato) Box… So What Can The Problem Be?
We said right from the beginning… How could three separate chains of wildly varying size in the Las Cruces, New Mexico, area all buy from the same supplier? It just doesn’t happen that way with fresh tomatoes. We hypothesized about the local managers buying outside the procurement system but that became impossible as the outbreak […]
FDA “Learns” About Tomatoes
Another bizarre portion of the press conference… listening to Dr. David Acheson, MD, Associate Commissioner for Foods, talk about the things they learned about the tomato industry during the course of the investigation. It reminded one of the old saying, “it is not what you don’t know that gets you in trouble, it is the […]
FDA Does Damage Control While
Doctor Acheson Tries to Justify The Unjustifiable
While CDC ‘s story is surrealistic, the FDA has become positively delusional. Here is what Dr. David Acheson, MD, FDA’s Associate Commissioner for Foods, had to say in the same press conference where CDC started backtracking: It isn’t over yet. We don’t have all the answers yet. This is all really designed in the context […]
CDC Back Pedals Fast As Dr. Griffin Tries To Re-write History To Avoid Responsibility For Her Actions — Or Lack Thereof
Q: Is there now a question that tomatoes may not actually be the incubator of the salmonella? That it might be some other type of produce? A: We continue to see a strong association with consumption of tomatoes and from the start what we said is that many of the people ate tomatoes in dishes […]
FDA And CDC Create DoubtsAbout Their Own Competence …
As Well As The Tomato Link!
On Friday, June 27, 2008 one of the most shocking press conferences of the whole Salmonella Saintpaul outbreak occurred. We felt the need to come out with this special Saturday edition of the Perishable Pundit to deal with the implications of this press conference. It is clear that there is a breakdown — an almost […]
