Weekly Response #3

This week I read a blog post from Food Politics by Marion Nestle titled “Should CDC reveal the source of outbreaks? I vote yes.”  While I do understand why she thinks that the CDC should reveal the source of the outbreak, at the same time I don’t think that the CDC should, or treat the situation very carefully.  By revealing the source of the outbreak of food poisoning, while it would notify people to their potential risk, it could cause several problems too.  From hearing stories, when it is announced that there is an outbreak of something, people who are sick, even a little, will go to the ER thinking they have it.  Yes that may be the point of telling people, so they know it’s out there but that causes a mass panic and if people who aren’t sick with the disease go and clog up the ERs, someone who may actually be sick with the disease are at risk and in danger of having to wait before being seen.  Their condition could get worse in that time period, and they could get even sicker.  Also, it would have a negative impact on the economy and the business itself.  In my opinion, it is not entirely the restaurant’s fault that an outbreak occurred at their facility.  Why?  Simply put because they are not the ones processing the meat, they get the meat from a packaging plant that should test the meat for such diseases (again in my opinion) and make sure that all food quality standards are met.  That way there is a lower risk that someone would get sick from the food.  But the author thinks people should know, which makes sense so that that way they can stay away from that specific store.  And at the same time, there are other issues to consider as well.  At least in my opinion there are.