America’s regulation of food policy from victim and consumer advocate perspectives
5th Euro-Global Summit and Expo on Food & Beverages
June 16-18, 2015 Alicante, Spain

Darin Detwiler

Keynote: J Food Process Technol

Abstract:

The June 1, 1906 London Times Literary Supplement, in its review of Upton Sinclair?s novel The Jungle, declared that ?The things described by Mr. Sinclair happened yesterday, are happening today, and will, happen tomorrow and the next day, until some Hercules comes to cleanse the filthy stable.? In order to create food policy reform in every country, ?Hercules? can be found in the voices and in the actions of consumers and those who work in the food industry. Since the 1993 E. coli outbreak that sickened over 650 people and killed four young children in the Pacific Northwest (viewed by food experts as the ?9/11? of the food industry), some 60,000 Americans have died due to further outbreaks of food borne pathogens. Currently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is finalizing rules in the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), the first major legislation since the 1940s. However, the World Health Organization looks at continuing outbreaks and recalls in America?s food supply as indicators of weaknesses in global food security and as a possible vehicle for terrorism. Policymakers depend on a true cost of disease and, thus, should listen to those whose lives have been forever changed due to problems with food safety and security. Unfortunately, not all participants in this democratic process are free from barriers to participation. But without the echoes of needless pain and tragic loss, the human factor will become lost in the sea of numbers used by the food industry, insurance companies, and legislators.

Biography :

Darin Detwiler works in Food Policy and has spanned over 20 years. He is the Senior Food Policy Coordinator for STOP Food borne Illness and an instructor of Regulatory Affairs of Food Industry at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts, where he is also a Doctoral Student (Law and Policy) focusing on food policy in America. Since the 1993 death of his son from E. coli, Darin?s work in Food Policy includes serving two terms as a regulatory policy advisor to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Drug Administration collaboration as a Food Science Educator, and presentations before legislators, media, and industry. His current efforts include collaboration with policymakers for the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) final rule adoption. His works have been published in newspapers and industry journals.