Fast Food Health Eating

Fast Food Health Eating

Michael A. Williams

English 135, Section L

DeVry University- Chicago

Professor Loretta Nyhan

06/10/2010

Abstract

Elevate the concern for what you eat and become a healthy shopper with your fast-food choices. Most of the food industry is safe to a degree. However, one area that can be improved within this industry is stronger food regulations for safer fast foods. The FDA, (Food and Drug Administration), should change the current way of doing business that affects our food industry. We are not aware of the great deception of our food industry; in addition, nothing is begin done for the great sickness as well as loss of life due to food borne illness within the country.

Many Americans continue business as usual eating out at various fast-food chains feel mild symptoms of illness without contributing it to the food that was just digested. Laws and regulations need to change. Sanitation guidelines and classes should be a must in every aspect of the food industry. No one should own, operate, and/or produce within the food industry unless every possible precaution for food contamination within a food related emporium has been inspected and secured.

Fast Food Health Eating

Most of the food industry is safe to a degree. However, one area that can be improved is stronger food regulations for safer fast foods. Fast food chains need to tighten up the food regulation areas. Food safety is very important to healthy eating. Most these chains have lost the quality of their products because of poor regulations and safety.

I have observed multiple safety violations while patronizing many of these chains. By personally witnessing several things such as employees handling my meals and money simultaneously, improper contact with personal anatomic areas, coughing, sneezing and blowing their noses while reaching to wrap my food. Most times I saw bare hands touching food; as well as, safety concerns, you would assume is limited to the entry level food preparer, which are new to his/her position within these establishments; nevertheless, sadly, I have been the unfortunate by-stander of managers acting out these same practices, essentially endorsing the potential of contamination throughout their products. I have become very leery of consuming food prepared out of these chains.

People appear not to even care nor be alarmed about the horrific madness that is running rampant throughout our world. Within every country there are unsafe food handling practices going on. Many of these actions are do to lack of food handling education and sanitation practices. Why do we allow this to continue? Why no one cared to stop this outrageous practice? I hope to bring some light to the subject through this research paper and possibly an answer to how we can stop this practice. I do know that if we really enforced the universal precaution rules and the food sanitation laws these bad food-handling practices will come to a halt.

Fast Food Industries Dealing With Food Borne Illness

The definition of a Food borne Outbreak according to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is the occurrence of two or more cases of a similar illness resulting from the ingestion of a common food (April 2006).

A food-borne illness outbreak defined by the CDC, "incident in which two or more persons experience a similar illness resulting from the ingestion of a common food." Every day restaurants, fast food and convenience store food services are operating in a very high-risk environment. A food-borne illness outbreak creates legal exposure and a public relaxations disaster. If prepared food stands at room temperature for more than two hours, it may not be safe to eat. Reheat foods properly, to kill the harmful bacteria. Continually talk about food safety, particularly at team meetings. Remember food is an integral part of your organization, and a food-borne illness is a big risk, Dean Dirks, Dirks & Associates, (2010).

The vast number of food borne illnesses food borne illness is any illness resulting from the consumption of food. Although food borne illness commonly called food poisoning, this is often a misnomer. There are estimates that medical costs and loss of productivity resulting from seven of the most serious food pathogens are between $6.5 million and $34.9 billion annually, independent agency of the U.S. government, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. Nesmith, (2004).

January 19, 2010 - An estimated 87 million cases of food-borne illness occurred in the U.S. last year, including 371,000 hospitalizations and 5,700 deaths, according to an Associated Press calculation that used a formula devised by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and current population estimates, Dean Dirks, Dirks & Associates, (2010).

There was a time when a hair net was an absolute must before starting work. No one within the whole restaurant these days wears a hair net. Today, one can find long nails, polished nails, and designer studded nails, and even dirty fingernails, however, mind blowing the allowance of this today. Everyone enjoys fast and quick food and service. We are all on the go at all times in our lives that quick and micro waved is the way of life today. Dateline (2010); reveal that this way of life can prove to be very dangerous within our fast food industry. Dateline (2010), for the first time ever hosted a national survey an investigation review of America's top favorite fast food chains to see which ones prove to be safe and clean.

Let's look at part of this investigation and how "one hundred people eating from a McDonalds' in Erwin, Tenn., March 2009 all became dreadfully ill" Dateline (2010). The Centers for Disease Control says sick restaurant employees very likely contaminated the food with a virus. Dateline (2010), this report states that some ended up in the hospital, dehydrated and event hallucinating. Now, after all of that which sounds like a classic "FOOD BORNE OUTBREAK", McDonald's