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If you thought it seems like there have been a lot of food recalls this year, you aren’t wrong. People reports the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has investigated 22 outbreaks in 2018 so far, which is the highest number of investigations in 12 years. It might seem like food is getting unsafer to eat, but the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says that’s not the case. FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb told CNN recently that the numbers of investigations will rise as their methods of finding outbreaks get better.
Currently, the CDC has the ability to test samples from infected patients and genetically link the pathogens they find to food sources. However, what’s missing is the technology to track and trace an outbreak to a single distributor or grower. Still, there have been major improvements in food safety in the last decade, and Gottlieb says, “I think food is [safer] now than it’s ever been. We have [many] more resources and additional tools to do effective surveillance.”
