The outbreak that changed meat and poultry inspection systems worldwide.

Abstract

In the course of history, one of the best recognized constants is that change happens most often and most rapidly in response to a dire situation. Even when efforts to introduce improvements have been ongoing for quite a while, it is not until an emergency or a crisis develops that people are ready to accept change to resolve the problem at hand. Such has been the case with meat and poultry safety. Many in the community, whether regulators, the industry, researchers, or advocates would agree that the most significant and impactful such event was the 1993 outbreak of foodborne illness associated with the Jack-in-the-Box restaurant chain. According to the Washington Department of Health (WDOH), where the outbreak was first reported, a cluster of children were suffering from hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) caused by infection with Escherichia coli O157:H7, a little-known bacterial pathogen (CDC, 1993). The investigation quickly determined that the regular-sized hamburger patties and jumbo patties produced by Vons’ Companies of California and sold to the public by Jack-in-the Box were the source of the organism. The outbreak resulted in more than 600 illnesses with four children dead from having consumed undercooked hamburgers. To say that this was a scandal is an understatement. This situation was so dire that the outbreak was discussed as an agenda item during President Bill Clinton’s first cabinet meeting in 1993, after his inauguration as the 42nd President of the United States (Cross, Personal Communication, 2018). Many things changed following that meeting, culminating in a regulatory mandate by USDA’s Food Safety & Inspection Service (FSIS) for industry to implement the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) system at every federally inspected meat and poultry slaughter and processing plant in the United States. However, it may come as a surprise to some that the foundation for changes in food safety processes had already been in the works the year preceding the outbreak. A review of the events that took place in 1992 and how those activities had a direct impact on the events to come is justified.