By Tim Talevich
WHEN YOU THINK of food as part of your new year’s plans, it’s usually
about what to eat and how much. Yet food safety is equally important in
any consideration of what you consume.
Despite improvements in testing and operations, about one in six
people in America still get sick from food each year, according to federal
officials. Are we making progress in the effort to make food safer? And
what can people do at home to keep their family healthy?
36 ;e Costco Connection JANUARY 2014
cover story
From
farmtotable
To answer these questions, The
Connection met with officials from the
U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA)
Food Safety and Inspection Service
(FSIS), a division that oversees the safety
and proper labeling of meat, poultry and
processed eggs, to talk about federal
food-safety measures. We also asked
Craig Wilson, who oversees Costco’s
food-safety and quality-assurance pro-
gram, to explain how food safety is pro-
moted within Costco, from fresh meats
prepared in the warehouse meat depart-
ments to packaged foods that come
from suppliers. And we offer tips and
resources on smart steps consumers can
take to keep all food as safe as possible.
Our discussion with the FSIS focused
on efforts to make poultry and beef safer
to eat. Administrator Al Almanza, deputy
undersecretary Brian Ronholm and chief
of staff Adela Ramos participated in the
talk. Here’s a summarization of the session.
The Costco Connection: Let’s
start out with the topic of safe poultry.
Currently, most inspections are visually
Taking steps for
safer food A G E
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