Source: Chris Scott, MEATINGPLACE.COM, 5/16/11

It is often considered the “Ground Zero” of food-borne illnesses, resulting in the deaths of four children and the sickening of at least 700 others who bought and ate undercooked hamburgers at Jack in the Box restaurants from Seattle to San Diego in 1993.

In the new book “Poisoned: The True Story of the Deadly E. Coli Outbreak that Changed the Way Americans Eat,” author Jeff Benedict provides a compelling account of how the outbreak occurred and outlines the steps that Jack in the Box executives, meat scientists, public health officials and others took to address the tragic events. The book is available on Tuesday.

In an interview with Meatingplace, Benedict describes what drew him to the story and how its impact is still being felt today.

What was the impetus to write this book now, nearly 20 years after the events?  
I originally set out to write a book about the massive salmonella outbreak tied to peanuts (the American Peanut Corp.) two years ago. In the course of exploring that possibility, I came across the Jack in the Box outbreak and found it to be a far more compelling case on many levels. In my judgment, nothing since Upton Sinclair's “The Jungle” has had more impact on U.S. food safety policy. So many of the food safety procedures we now take for granted – handling instructions on packaged meats, mandatory internal cooking temperatures, E. coli as a reportable disease, etc. – are a result of the Jack in the Box case.
What is the most important lesson that food-processing companies can learn from “Poisoned”?
Own up to responsibility right away. One of the things I found most interesting in this story was the way Jack in the Box accepted responsibility and worked to compensate victims. By any standard, this outbreak should have sunk Jack in the Box. Other food companies can learn a lot from how Jack in the Box reacted.  For that matter, companies in any industry could benefit from seeing how Jack in the Box responded to a crisis.

What practices are the industry doing better now and what do processors and retailers still need to do better moving forward?
For starters, the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) safety checklist that Dave Theno (a scientist hired by the chain to design new safety procedures) first implemented for Jack in the Box following the outbreak in Seattle is now standard throughout the industry. That's a direct result of the Jack in the Box case, and it's a positive step. On the other hand, I have concerns about what is being done to processed meat in order to make it "safe." For instance, the injection of ammonia into ground beef may kill E. coli. But I don't see the ingestion of ammonia – even in small doses deemed acceptable by the government – as a positive step.  My view is that the best processing goes on at small operations where the farmer knows the cow.

In the wake of recent E. Coli, salmonella, listeria and other outbreaks, are there other biological pathogens that processors, inspectors and the public should make themselves aware of in the near future?
There are other strains of E. Coli that are not currently being tested by government regulators. They are potentially just as deadly as O157:H7 (found in the 2003 outbreak). That, in my mind, is the next big thing that the industry and the federal government must admit and address. Otherwise, the lessons of the Jack in the Box case will be lost.

You note in “Poisoned” that you and your family have changed the way you gather the food that reaches your dining room table. Do you have a new perception of the industry or recommendations for others?
I do, but I have to begin by saying that what and how one eats is a personal choice. My family now gets almost all of what eat from what we grow or what we can obtain from local farms within 30 miles of our home. We eat our share of chicken and beef, but we know the farmer who raises these animals. When we say grace at our dinner table, my family no longer glosses over the fact that someone worked very hard to plant, grow, pick and prepare the food we're about to eat. When you know where (the food) comes from and how much effort it takes to grow and raise, your attitude toward farming and animals changes dramatically. And every time I drive past a semi-tractor trailer full of chickens jammed into cages, I'm reminded why I will never again purchase meat from an industrial farm.
 

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