Jul 7, 2008 11:35 pm US/Eastern
Dangerous Imports Could Be In Your Packaged Food
BOSTON (WBZ) ―
Tainted tomatoes, recalled beef. The fresh food we eat can be unsafe, causing thousands of deaths each year. But there's also a risk in the packaged products we buy every day.
"We noticed Sidney got sick on a Sunday. She just spiked a fever all of a sudden."
Elex Scheels is talking about what happened to one of her 20-month-old triplets last April. "Whenever she would have a bowel movement, it was just blood pouring out of her body."
Tests showed that Sidney had salmonella poisoning and in two weeks the toddler lost two pounds. "You get chills, you cry….I broke down and I said, 'Is she going to die?'"
Sidney survived, but where did the tainted food come from? Another shock. The Centers for Disease Control traced it to Veggie Booty, a gourmet snack billed as healthy and made in America. "They get a spice that came from China and caused salmonella and caused my kids to be sick for so long -- it's infuriating."
And there are probably products in your kitchen that you think are made in America, with only American ingredients, and held to our standards, but you'd be wrong.
Take Dole Pineapple. It claims to be America's favorite, but it's actually a product of the Philippines.
Then there's Juicy Juice. Nothing foreign is noted on the label, but in tiny letters in the plastic is the phrase, "product of China." Delmonte's Sun Fresh Hand Sorted Grapefruit? That comes from Mexico. And in the case of Veggie Booty, it was made in the United States, but contained ingredients from China that do not have to be listed on the label.
"There's a lot of confusion out there among the public about the food they eat and where does it actually come from," says Nancy Donley who founded the organization Safe Tables Our Priority or S.T.O.P.
The group wants to raise awareness about the seriousness of food-borne illnesses. "We have to recognize that our food safety system as a whole is broken and needs fixing," says Nancy.
Historically, the countries of most concern have been China, India, and Mexico, where safety standards are not as strict as ours. "I think that countries that repeatedly violate food safety laws and food safety practices should not be allowed to export to the United States."
The Food and Drug Administration says that considering how much food is consumed every day in this country, the number of food-borne illnesses are very low.
The FDA's David Acheson says the food supply is very safe, but can be made even safer. The FDA unveiled a new Food Protection Plan that includes checking food overseas -- not just when it enters our country. "The FDA is planning on establishing an office in China that will open hopefully some time in 2009."
But after her frightening experience, Elex Scheels still feels helpless, "It's unnerving to know there's nothing as a consumer that you can do to ensure that your food is safe."
The maker of Veggie Booty, Robert's American Gourmet, did not get the tainted spice directly from china, but from an importer: Atlantic Quality Spice and Seasoning.
Robert's American Gourmet says it now uses ingredients only from American sources.
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