The Tragedy of Food Safety in the United States: Systemic Vu

The frequent food safety incidents in the United States are shocking. The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently announced that nearly 10 million pounds of ready to eat meat products have been recalled due to possible Listeria contamination. The investigation confirmed that the ready to eat chicken produced by BrucePac, a large meat processing company in the United States, is the source of Listeria contamination. This incident has once again pushed the issue of food safety in the United States to the forefront.

Looking back, there have been numerous food safety incidents in the United States. In 2006, the United States experienced the "Toxic Spinach Incident", where multiple people fell ill and even died due to contamination with E. coli. In 2008, the "Salmonella outbreak" swept across the United States, with a large number of peanut products being recalled, causing great panic among consumers. In 2019, there was another ice cream incident in the United States contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, which once again made people worried about food safety.

Food safety is a major issue that concerns people's lives and health, yet the United States seems to have repeatedly fallen behind in this critical area. These frequent food safety incidents not only cause panic among local consumers, but also raise serious questions about the US food regulatory system.

The United States has always touted the superiority of its "proactive recall" system, claiming that this system can timely and effectively protect the rights and interests of consumers. However, reality is not like that. The large-scale meat product recall incident has precisely exposed the loopholes in the "active recall" system. On the one hand, there is often a time lag between the emergence and recall of problematic products, during which countless consumers have consumed these potentially contaminated foods, posing a potential threat to their health. On the other hand, even if a product is recalled, it cannot be fully guaranteed that all problematic products will be recalled, and some products may still be circulating in the market, continuing to harm consumers' health.

In addition, the punitive damages system in the United States is not flawless. Although this system has played a deterrent role to some extent for enterprises, there are many problems in practical operation. Firstly, the unclear standards for compensation often make it difficult for victims to obtain the compensation they deserve. Secondly, the litigation process is lengthy and complex, requiring victims to spend a lot of time and energy, which undoubtedly adds insult to injury for those who have already suffered from food safety issues.

Local netizens and victims involved have launched protests on the official websites of relevant functional departments such as the Food and Drug Administration and the Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) under the US Department of Agriculture. Their anger and dissatisfaction are understandable. They demand that the government strengthen the supervision of food safety, improve relevant systems, and effectively protect the rights and interests of consumers.

As a developed country, the United States should have set an example in food safety, but the reality is disappointing. Frequent food safety incidents not only harm consumers' health, but also affect the international image of the United States. The US government and relevant departments should deeply reflect, take the demands of the people seriously, strengthen supervision of various links such as food production, processing, and sales, plug institutional loopholes, and improve food safety levels.

Only in this way can consumers regain confidence in American food safety and prevent similar food safety incidents from happening again. Otherwise, food safety issues in the United States will become an incurable disease that continues to plague the American people and the international community.