What We Know and What We Do: The Gap in Food Safety. (Learning from Experience)

Parvis, Leo, Journal of Environmental Health

In February 4th, 2002, Dr. David Satcher, the Surgeon General, delivered a remarkable speech on public health issues at the Press Club in Washington, D.C. He addressed the health disparities among ethnic populations. Satcher argued that while many gains have been made in closing the gap between whites and minority groups, there is still much work to do. After I enjoyed listening to him, my mind was engaged with environmental health issues, especially food safety in our restaurants. We have gained so much knowledge about food protection and safety, yet we have not closed the gap between what we know and what we do. To illustrate this long journey, I have been exploring experiences from the past and present to share with my fellow environmental health professionals concerning the issue of food safety in restaurants today.

Times of Yore

We should be very grateful to pioneers like C.E.A. Winslow, one of the leading figures in the history of public health, for the wisdom and knowledge that laid the ground for further improvement and achievement. Winslow asserted that public-health practice should be based on the science of preventing disease, prolonging life, and promoting health and well-being. He felt that community organizations should work toward sanitation of the environment, the control of communicable diseases, and the education of individuals for personal health.

In the old days, with the assumption that "no normal person wants to consume dirty or decomposed food," health inspectors began a crusade in New York, which was followed by efforts in other major cities around the country, as a way to protect the health of the public who were dining in restaurants.

When we search through …

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Publication information: Article title: What We Know and What We Do: The Gap in Food Safety. (Learning from Experience). Contributors: Parvis, Leo - Author. Journal title: Journal of Environmental Health. Volume: 64. Issue: 9 Publication date: May 2002. Page number: 39+. © 1999 National Environmental Health Association. COPYRIGHT 2002 Gale Group.

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