Prevention of exposures to contaminated foods (and the resultant casualties) requires rapid action by both responders and the general public. In response to a food-related incident, response operations will place immediate priority on preventing further exposure by identifying the causative adulterant and the affected food product, removing unpurchased product from market shelves, and communicating with the public to avoid consumption of already purchased product. When appropriately warned, the public is less likely to consume contaminated food products. The number of exposures that occur depend then on:
- How quickly the event is recognized
- How quickly retailers remove products from shelves
- How quickly the warning to stop consumption is issued to the public
- The warning method used (discussed further in KPF 3, Communicate with External Partners and the Public)
- The product’s shelf life and typical distribution and consumption periods
- Whether a common ingredient used in many products has been contaminated (this increases the opportunity for widespread effects over a longer period of time)
When a chemical incident involves a contaminated food product, the FDA will recall potentially contaminated/dangerous food products to prevent further spread of contamination and human or animal exposures. A coordinated, well-executed response to a food contamination event can greatly limit the number of people consuming the contaminated food and the resulting casualties. The media attention that will naturally follow from unusually large numbers of affected people will be a boon in this situation, as information regarding food recalls will be disseminated widely in near real-time. However, even shorter shelf-life foods, if they can be frozen and consumed later rather than eaten immediately, can lead to illnesses reported over a longer period of time if individuals do not heed public warning messages. As an example, contaminated food-related illness was noted 49 days after product recall in a 2003 case of nicotine-contaminated ground beef, as the individual had finally consumed frozen product.66
Footnotes
66. U.S. Department of Justice. Mass Fatality Incident Family Assistance Operations: Recommended Strategies for Local and State Agencies. Federal Bureau of Investigation Office for Victim Assistance. National Transportation Safety Board.