Eating Dangerously: Why the Government Can't Keep Your Food Safe ... and How You Can

by Michael Booth, Jennifer Brown

Americans are afraid of their food. And for good reason. In 2011, the deadliest food-borne illness outbreak in a century delivered killer listeria bacteria on innocuous cantaloupe never before suspected of carrying that pathogen. Nearly 50 million Americans will get food poisoning this year. Spoiled, doctored or infected food will send more than 100,000 people to the hospital. Three thousand will die. We expect, even assume, our government will protect our food, but how often do you think a major U.S. food farm get inspected by federal or state officials? Once a year? Every harvest? Twice a decade? Try never. Eating Dangerously sheds light on the growing problem and introduces readers to the very real, very immediate dangers inherent in our food system.

This two-part guide to our food system's problems and how consumers can help protect themselves is written by two seasoned journalists, who helped break the story of the 2011 listeria outbreak that killed 33 people. Michael Booth and Jennifer Brown, award-winning health and investigative journalists and parents themselves, answer pressing consumer questions about what's in the food supply, what "authorities" are and are not doing to clean it up, and how they can best feed their families without making food their full-time jobs. Both deeply informed and highly readable, Eating Dangerously explains to the American consumer how their food system works—and more importantly how it doesn’t work. It also dishes up course after course of useful, friendly advice gleaned from the cutting-edge laboratories, kitchens and courtrooms where the national food system is taking new shape. Anyone interested in knowing more about how their food makes it from field and farm to store and table will want the inside scoop on just how safe or unsafe that food may be. They will find answers and insight in these pages.

Genres: Nonfiction, Food, Health, Science

200 pages, Hardcover

First published April 2, 2014

About the author

Michael Booth is the lead health care writer for The Denver Post and has covered health, medicine, health policy and politics throughout his twenty five-year journalism career. He was part of the team that won the 2013 and 2000 Pulitzer Prizes for Breaking News. He has made frequent appearances on commercial and public television and radio, and has won the National Education Writers’ Award, Best of the West, American Health Care Journalists honors, and other awards. He also co-led the coverage of the most deadly food-borne illness outbreak of the past century, the cantaloupe listeria illnesses of 2011, with Jennifer Brown. Their coverage of the listeria outbreak became the outline for a Congressional committee’s scathing report about what went wrong at the source farm and in the supply chain that sold the tainted melons.

Source: Rowman & Littlefield

Reviews

[Rick · Rating 2 out of 5]

Despite the authors' claims to the contrary, this came across as fear-mongering. Cooking deli meat before eating it? Throwing away half-eaten fruit rather than refrigerating it? Placing foods to cool in containers no more than 2" deep? I'm gonna need a whole bunch more casserole dishes if I've gotta pour my double-batch of spaghetti sauce into 2" pans to cool.

In Eating Dangerously the authors offer a look at the risks inherent in our food supplies. However, having just finished The Norm Chronicles (a wholly enjoyable read on assessing risk), I'm skeptical of the concerns presented here.

For example, cantaloupe was responsible for the 2011 Lysteria outbreak that killed 33 people (a story the authors were involved in covering and which makes several appearances throughout the book). Not to minimize those deaths or the suffering of the families involved, but I have to wonder: how many people ate cantaloupe in the U.S. during that time-frame in 2011? 330? 330,000? 3.3 million? I don't know, but I'm guessing my chances of getting sick, much less dying, from eating cantaloupe are pretty small yet the authors portray that humble melon sitting on your kitchen table as a time bomb just waiting to go off and put you and your family in the hospital, facing death or permanent kidney failure and a life time of dialysis.

The same with raw spinach, sprouts, shellfish and all the other food items that are presented here. Feta cheese? Really, we should stop eating feta cheese right now because it's made with unpasteurized milk? They make it sound like putting a loaded gun to my head and pulling the trigger

In fairness to Booth and Brown, these are not their claims -- they are simply reporting the concerns pointed out to them by the food safety experts they talked to. However, there was no attempt to put these claims or the risks presented into the broader picture of overall food consumption in this country.

[Jessica · Rating 1 out of 5]

DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME WITH THIS BOOK!!! There are SO many other MUCH better books that talk about the evils and perils of our current industrial food system. If you want to read more about how to eat better, healthier, real food I suggest reading Joel Salatin, Ben Hewitt, and many others who are farming in smaller-scale, sustainable ways. By the end of this book I was so mad at the misinformation and lack of helpful options. The first half of the book talks about recent outbreaks of food-borne illnesses and why these things happen - basically it's a product of the industrial food system (which I agree with completely). Then the second half of the book talks about ways you can be safer and with your food - this is where I start to get mad. Basically the authors seem to be suggesting that you're better off eating processed food full of who knows what because most food-borne illness outbreaks are related to fresh food (hamburger meat, cantaloupe, spinach). They also say that if you shop at farmer's markets you're just "romanticising" your food and it's not any better for you or safer. That is bullshit! When you KNOW your farmer and you've visited their farm you KNOW your food. That is not the case with ANYTHING you purchase at the grocery store. I know that there might be shady "farmers" at some markets that don't grow their own food, etc. but that's why it's so important to get to know them and visit their farms so you can see first hand how they are raising their animals or crops. The authors also imply that many people think if they buy from the farmer's market they don't need to wash the veggies or cook the meat - I mean what kind of dumb asses are these people talking to?! NO ONE at a decent farmer's market would EVER suggest that you don't follow basic kitchen/cooking safety guidelines! Basically this book scares the hell out of you with horror stories of food poisoning outbreaks (which are true and are scary), but then their solutions are to either eat processed food or just wait until you get one of the many food-borne illnesses out there. They even have a chapter on the most common ones and what the symptoms are so you can self-diagnose WHEN not IF you get one!

I am NOT a fan of the industrial food system, but this book is a joke as far as "helping" anyone. If you are afraid of the industrial food nightmare (and you should be), the answer is to opt out by knowing your local farmers, growing some of your own food, and cooking local foods at home (safely of course). Don't waste your time reading this joke of a book. I can't remember the last time a book made me as mad as this one did. Here are a few of the worst quotes:

"Which is better to feed your kids for lunch: processed chicken nuggets from the freezer section or a burger made from ground turkey? The answer depends on whether you are more worried about feeding the children nitrates, sodium, and saturated fat or reducing the risk of ingesting illness-inducing Salmonella or Campylobacter. (p. 91) REALLY?! Those are your ONLY food options?! Processed shit or real shit in your meat - this is one of the most offensive sentences I've EVER read!

"It's all the rage to buy farm-fresh food, to seek out free-range eggs and organic vegetables delivered to the door or grown in the backyard. That's all great - but don't take the back-to-nature way of life all the way to raw milk. It's not worth it. 'Raw milk is horrifically dangerous. I would never advise anyone under any circumstances to drink it,' said Klein, with the Center for Science in the Public Interest." (p. 95) So now eating local, whole foods including raw milk which people have consumed for centuries, is now just a "trend" that will die off when all the raw milkers die from food poisoning - give me a break!

"Stroll through the farmers' market each week, sampling watermelon and homemade sausages and loaves of bread full of hearty seeds and grains. Go ahead - these are all wonderful ways to live. You'll develop a greater appreciation for the people who raise our food and, at the same time, help bolster the local economy. But while you are doing all this, don't be naive enough to assume you are less likely than traditional grocery store shoppers to pick up a dangerous food pathogen along the way. Eating healthy, or organically, or locally, has its benefits - few pesticides, more humane treatment of animals, less fossil fuel burned to transport the bananas from Chile or the hamburger from who knows where - but it has not been found to reduce the risk of foodborne illness." (p. 137) In my opinion this is just a flat out lie. There is no way that eating locally grown and humanely raised food is as dangerous as industrially produced food.

"Echoed egg expert Jay-Russell: 'There is a lot of naivete going on as people go back to the locavore. There is a romanticism that doesn't appreciate the risks'." (p. 149) The risks with food are from the industrial system and no amount of laws or incentives to those companies will ever fix that. Food was never meant to be produced on the scale that it is now and that is why the industrial food system will NEVER work. This sentence is on the last page of the book and I just wanted to throw this book at Jay-Russell AND the authors!

[Mark Stevens · Rating 5 out of 5]

As eaters who depend on the giant trough built by mass production and mass distribution and the notion of no seasons (strawberries in February, but of course), we are increasingly at risk of ingesting a sub-microscopic morsel that could transform an otherwise healthy fad vegetable into junk food and threaten our health and maybe our life.

"Eating Dangerously," in quick slice-and-dice fashion, presents a prosecution as tight as the Zip-Loc bag trying ward off the growth of unhealthy bacteria in the back of your fridge.

"Eating Dangerously" dips briefly into the same contaminated waters as "The Omnivores Dilemma" (Michael Pollan) and "Fast Food Nation" (Eric Schlosser).

But "Eating Dangerously" makes it painfully clear that meat isn’t the only place that shoppers should cast a wary eye and details the many ways in which our safety infrastructure provides a defense that’s about as sturdy as, well, a wet paper towel. Or leafy green. After consuming Eating Dangerously, you may view the produce section as cautiously as you look for off-color spots beneath the plastic wrap on the shelves of ground chuck.

“For all the spotlights trained on slaughterhouses during years of disturbing headlines about meat, from 2006 through 2011 U.S. consumers learned more about potential pathogens in previously innocuous foods such as melon and peanut butter,” write co-authors Michael Booth and Jennifer Brown.

"Eating Dangerously" rises above the killing floor horror show and the corporate greed of the meat processors to demonstrate that the safety guards we have put in place are woefully inadequate. Worse, they aren’t being shored up; they are being shredded by budget pressures. Even when the process is followed and a bad ingredient is traced back to the cattle poop that taints a spinach crop or careless (reckless) peanut farmers, government officials aren’t always forthcoming to consumers. The authors spell out a frightening case in which the U.S. government failed to identify a well-known fast food chain by name (Taco Bell), despite the ample evidence that led to its doors. The Taco Bell saga is yet another opportunity to think that corporate power overrides consumer needs—and government officials buckle at the mere mention of legal challenges.

The book charts budget reduction after budget reduction that have reduced the ranks of inspectors and watered down the illusion, weak to begin with, that safeguards are in place.

“Let’s say for argument’s sake, the FDA in some magical year in the near future actually gets the modernization budget it asks for, and get it in time to fill all the new positions before the next budget battle begins. How many people would that be? Remember, the FDA’s oversight of 80 percent of the American food supply means responsibility for 350,000 food factories, warehouses, and farms. Then curb your enthusiasm with the number of new full-time domestic inspectors requested in the 2013 budget: exactly nineteen. The FDA said those gains would be multiplied many times over by partnerships with state and local health agencies. Meanwhile, as Congress confronted plummeting revenue and entrenched budget battles from the 2008 recession onward, states and counties let go of 20 percent of their health departments’ workforce. The recession’s toll? A devastating attrition of more than thirty-four thousand jobs.”

The pathetic state of the inspection system should be a Page One headline for about a month. As the authors mention, when it’s generally assumed that your packaged chicken is contaminated in Salmonella and when all the safety precautions are placed squarely on the home cook (and not the processors or distributors or grocers) something has gone strangely awry.

"Eating Dangerously" breaks down what went wrong in the Colorado cantaloupe Listeria outbreak that led to the deaths of 33 eaters (and sickened many more). The fragile safety system’s use of “auditors”—paid for by the farmers themselves—gives a fresh imagery to the idea the fox can guard the hen house. While the oversights suggest ineptness rather than greediness in this melon case, the way in which safety checks are structured hardly looks good on paper, let alone the light of day.
Eating Dangerously is written in a brisk, efficient style (with a dollop of humor and razor wit). The talents of two hard-nosed, experienced reporters are obvious. The tone isn’t confrontational, only expository. The book wraps up with helpful chapters on shopping and managing your foodstuffs once you’ve returned from your grocery store. Given the risks involved, these chapters alone are worth the price. You’ll learn a few things about how to ruin a pathogen’s day.

Bottom line: the food safety pipeline is busted. We stand at the end of that pipeline with our mouths open and our food thermometers out (right, people?). We have a major role to play in protecting our innards and for the guts of anyone we choose to feed. The food safety system we have in place today is the one we want, given our unwillingness (on one end) to pay taxes and our apparent demand (on the other end) for cheap food in every variety and at all times of year. We stand in the kitchen, the last defense in the battle to keep our meals safe and healthy, and it’s always a good idea to know your enemy—and the lack of assistance being delivered by the good guys.

(Full disclosure that Michael Booth is a friend but I stand by every word of this review.)

[Mila · Rating 2 out of 5]

I knew the subject would be distasteful, ha, ha but I expected a bit of Michael Booth's humour but I didn't find it.

[Am Y · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought this would cover more of how foods from other countries may be unsafe, but it turns out that 90% of the content is about food safety within the US itself. It mentions the "poison cantaloupe" incidents, how salads make people sick, how tenderised beef may pose a health hazard, and various other examples of food safety lapses that take place in America.

There was only a fleeting 1-page mention in the entire book, of how seafood from Asian countries could be unfit for human consumption (due to the large amounts of bacteria on them). In turn, the author recommends eating shrimp from the Gulf of Mexico, which I found not very convincing at all since this particular stretch of water is itself full of contaminants!

The rest of the book provides advice on how to keep your food as clean as possible. Mainly this involves things such as not eating veggies raw, washing melon rinds with soap before cutting them, how to correctly handle raw meat, etc etc. Most of these tips many of us should already know and perhaps currently practice, so nothing new here.

[Kelli]

I simply do not need to be any more concerned ( or paranoid) about food. I thought this was about food additives. It is actually about food-born illnesses and how poorly the FDA handles this issue. I skipped to the appendix of useful tips in the back after reading a good chunk of this book. I'm sure it is a wealth of information but I have enough to worry about without adding in something I largely have little or no control over.

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

I skimmed this at my mother-in-law's house today. Lots of information about the dangers of food poisoning. Mostly it made me paranoid about eating anything. According to this book the majority of foods you purchase at your local grocery store are contaminated with something and even if you scrub your produce and overcook your meat, chances are good you'll still get sick at some point anyways.

[Nathan Albright · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is yet another muckrucking expose about the sorry state of food within the United States, of which there are many.  And many of these books go over the same ground and discuss in detail the failures of the government to adequately protect the interests and health of the American people.  And all of that is true, although it is also equally true that it would be prohibitively expensive to attempt to inspect our way to healthy food.  Intriguingly enough, the authors point out that there is often an inverse relationship between the goodness and healthiness of a food and its safety, as foods that have been irradiated are much safer for it, but healthy foods like melons, sprouts, and raw milk come with a high degree of risk attached based on how such foods are stored and kept.  Likewise, this book (like many others of its kind) is far stronger when it comes to pointing out the dangers of many of the foods than in providing a great deal of worthwhile information when it comes to making the food we eat safer.

This book is a relatively short one of about 150 pages and it is divided into two parts, and beginning with an introduction that shows the author's journalistic background.  The first part explores the question of whether we should be afraid of our food, answering with a resounding yes.  There are chapters on sickness from food (1), the lack of testing and inspection (2), the real life forensics behind responding to food outbreaks (3), the whole world in our kitchen (4), and what happens to companies that are responsible for the outbreaks--not much (5).   The second part of the book then at least seeks to answer the question of how to feed one's family safely and sanely.  There are chapters about foods to handle with care (6), the most dangerous foods being sprouts and spinach (7), the authors' praise of radiation (8), what do do when one has become sick (9), and the wide gulf between eating healthy and eating safely (10).  Those of us who have been frustrated by the struggle of finding sprouts after repeated outbreaks are aware of some of these issues.  After this comes two appendices, including resources to help one eat less dangerously (i) and some food safety quick tips (ii).  Finally, the book concludes with notes, index, and some more information about the authors.

It is rather perverse that there is such a gulf in our present evil age between eating healthy and eating safely.  Healthy foods that contain nutrients and that are nourishing in the long-term are generally also vulnerable to the conditions in which they are stored from farm to table.  In a contrary fashion, foods that have been radiated and otherwise processed to an extreme degree have little nutrients to lose and thus that which is beneficial for our lives and that which feeds bacteria can simultaneously be destroyed.  How is one to resolve this dilemma?  It would appear that if the healthiest foods are ones that are the most vulnerable to problems when sold by various agricultural businesses that the best course of action would be to seek to put as much as possible of one's food purchases and/or growing under conditions where food growers can be held accountable for what happens, which would encourage more farming, more involvement with local farmer's markets, and less reliance on government and companies to keep people safe when one party lacks the profit motive and the other lacks the capacity to engage in that important and necessary task.

[Sherri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Get ready to dive into an insightful journey with this book, which is thoughtfully divided into two engaging sections: Should We Be Afraid of Our Food? and Feeding Your Family Safely and Sanely.

In the first part, the authors tackle an important question: Is it time to be concerned about what we eat? They give a straightforward answer—yes! Through compelling discussions, they shed light on the realities of foodborne illnesses that often stem from inadequate testing and inspection practices. You’ll learn about the nature of food outbreaks and the hidden dangers lurking in our kitchens. It’s alarming to realize that many companies responsible for these incidents seldom face significant repercussions.

To illustrate these risks, journalists Booth and Brown from The Denver Post share the gut-wrenching story of a contaminated cantaloupe that tragically resulted in fatalities back in 2011. They really bring to life the everyday risks within the U.S. food industry and arm you with practical tips for safer eating. Did you know that spinach, peanuts, and eggs have been recently associated with E. coli, Salmonella, and Listeria outbreaks? Their in-depth research reveals that every year, 48 million people get sick and about 3,000 lives are lost in the U.S. due to food-related issues.

The second part of the book offers invaluable guidance on how to nourish your family with safety and sanity in mind! You'll find insightful chapters on foods that need special care, like sprouts and spinach. The authors explore the benefits of techniques like radiation, provide steps to take if someone becomes ill, and clarify the distinction between healthy and safe eating. With practical, easy-to-follow advice on food handling and a look at innovative solutions like genetically engineered foods and nanotechnology, this book is a fantastic resource. Plus, it includes a handy guide to the five most common symptoms of gastroenteritis and outlines the proactive steps that manufacturers and agencies are taking to keep us safe.

[Susan Olesen · Rating 4 out of 5]

In all, a fairly balanced discussion of the major outbreaks of food poisoning, and why, and where they failures in our food system lie. It discusses the various types of food poisoning (though when we think of food poisoning, we think of botulism and salmonella, not Norovirus or listeria [isn't that a plant?] or hepatitis. I'm now convinced it was a case of Norovirus that kinked my stomach band), as well as the ways various companies have taken steps to keep their food as clean as possible. I think I found a homonym error, and I disagree with their blase attitudes toward having inspectors on premises (there's no way in hell one inspector is going to catch every sick animal at the speed they go by), but in all it was an interesting and informative book, not hard to understand, and nicely short (150 pages, and then 50 pages of sources). Of course, now I'm washing my food like crazy, chucking anything that's been open more than a day, and fearing my watermelon - despite the fact we're trained in food safety and have never, not once, knowingly given anyone food poisoning. And yes you can eat that cookie dough raw - just use pasteurized eggs or Eggbeaters in your batter!!!

[Maria · Rating 2 out of 5]

This works well as a reference book...and also as a prelude to food horror stories. Overall, I tend to stay away from books like these, just because it spikes my paranoia and then I go around feeling like a crazy person, and spending oodles of time over-analyzing everything. Let me live (and die) peacefully in my oblivion.

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is a lot of useful information in this slim book. The problem is that the subject really cannot be covered adequately in a book of such modest length, and there is a fair amount of repetition.

The upsides: (1) A concise discussion of the shortcomings of the role of the US government in achieving food safety. Sinclair's "The Jungle" seems with us even today. (2) Some useful information on how to protect ourselves from food-borne illnesses. I certainly will avoid sprouts in the future. (3) Descriptions of the symptoms of various illnesses, though they are awfully similar, and a forceful case for avoiding antibiotics as much as possible. (4) As much as it offended some readers, I appreciate the calm discussion of organic foods and farmer's markets much more than I do the rants of some "true believers" in reviews of this book.

The downside: the actions recommended to keep a household safe are beyond what people are likely to be willing to do. I also wish the risk had been quantified. I found myself thinking they are about the same as driving your car, or maybe even lower in that I expect more people die from car accidents than from tainted food. There is a kind of overkill which threatens to take all the pleasure out of eating. I must admit the idea of cooking cold cuts is more than most of us will be willing to do.

[Sarah Ferguson · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ugh. Boring. Didn't finish. If I followed all this advice, I would have a miserable life in terms of food and eating. I am sure there are people who are so paranoid they would give up the great joy that is food because of the potential it will make them ill, but I am not one of them.

[Brian · Rating 1 out of 5]

very little useful information...

[Keke · Rating 2 out of 5]

Super Repetitious
Really Repetitious

[Sophie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book makes me paranoid about what I eat. Eating Dangerously is a detailed collection of food safety cases in the United States showcasing how foodborne illnesses are spread and how to prevent them. I like the consumer food safety tips that are provided, but the book does get a bit dry at times in terms of content and language. Nevertheless, it’s definitely worthy of at least a skim for those interested in learning about the food we eat.

Introduction
Michael Booth, former journalist for The Denver Post, and Jennifer Brown, current journalist for the same paper, team up to address the issue of food safety in the U.S. Booth and Brown interview numerous experts in the field to show the severity of the problem at hand; the two follow numerous foodborne illness outbreaks – such as the 2011 listeria outbreak that was traced back to cantaloupe farms – and show the modern farm-to-table paradigm, while revealing how budget cuts are preventing the proper food safety inspections from taking place. They also describe the difference between eating healthy and eating safe, share some surprising facts about the cleanliness of genetically modified foods and organic foods, and provide kitchen and shopping tips that will lead to safer eating habits.

Discussion
Eating Dangerously scared me for a good 70% of the book. It’s full of detailed examples of food poisoning cases, and really just made me paranoid about eating spinach and cantaloupe and even using spices on my food! I’m already kind of hypochondriacal, but after reading this, I keep wondering if a stomachache after a meal is the precursor to food poisoning or kidney failure or something WORSE. So in terms of relaying the importance of food safety, Booth and Brown did an excellent job. This pithy statement, in particular, hit me straight in my stomach heart:

It was peanut butter that killed her.

By providing an inside look at the food production process, the authors highlight the many places where food can be infected or “dirtied”. They also show that sometimes a lack of responsibility on the manufacturers’ part is not simply accidental, but on purpose. I felt a very accusatory tone from the text, mostly at the government and the food producers and manufacturers; the somewhat biased writing (most likely intended to make readers angry at the big guys) put me off a little, but I think that’s just personal taste. I also grew less sympathetic as I kept reading because there were just so many disastrous cases that lead to severe illness or death.

The parts I enjoyed most about the book are the appendices, which provide lots of food safety resources including links to relevant websites and quick kitchen and shopping tips. Some tips that I’ll definitely keep in mind the next time I go shopping are to shop for cold items last and to wash reusable shopping bags occasionally, which are very self-explanatory… but which I’ve never done or paid attention to!

Conclusion
I liked Eating Dangerous for its content, but did not enjoy the writing style as much. It felt quite dry to me, but the numerous examples and evidence supporting the authors’ arguments make this a worthwhile book to skim through, if not to peruse through. As a grad student in public health, I also appreciated the detail that was put into showing how the farm-to-table paradigm has changed, and if the goal of this book is to induce outrage at the government and at food producers, the authors have succeeded. For those who want an abridged version of the book, Booth and Brown’s 2011 article is a great place to start since it emphasizes the problem with our food safety system and provides the consumer food safety tips that are also included in the book.

Paper Breathers (Book Reviews & Discussions)

[Christina Dudley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't tend to be a food safety alarmist--our family applies the 10-second rule to food fallen on the floor, and produce never gets more than a quick rinse in the tap, so I was able to enjoy this book without t-o-t-a-l-l-y f-r-e-a-k-i-n-g o-u-t. Most likely, at some point, we might get sick from our food, but since we no longer have tiny kids or pregnant women and are not yet old and in the home, I'm not going to sweat it.

Plants and animals get plenty of exposure to bacteria and feces and just plain dirt, so unless you're going to switch to only hydroponically-grown produce and abstain from meat and seafood, there will always be risk involved. Organic foods spare you the pesticides, but not necessarily the other hazards. If you *are* the freak-out type, author Booth has plenty of tips on produce-scrubbing and meat thermometers and refrigerator optimization and such that you will find helpful.

Booth covers some of the worst food-illness scares in recent history, including Colorado canteloupe and California spinach and southern peanuts, and discovers the government does not have the manpower or the funding to keep our food supply safe. Neither consumers nor grocery stores nor producers want to pay for the safeguards either, so that throws us back on the home techniques.

The book may make your more likely to purchase your bagged spinach from Earthbound Farms, however, as they made big changes after their e Coli scare and now do test-and-hold before any of their spinach goes to market. Not as fresh, perhaps, but if you were buying bagged spinach in the first place, that wasn't a huge deal to you. And this way you at least won't spend a day hunched over a toilet.

Most new and interesting to this reader were the discussions of Chinese food adulteration/contamination and the multitude of foreign imports (including spices) which are completely beyond our FDA's ability to track, test or regulate.

So *are* there any advantages to eating local and organic? Booth says, "Eating healthy, or organically, or locally, has its benefits--fewer pesticides, more humane treatment of animals, less fossil fuel burned to transport the bananas from Chile or the hamburger from who knows where--but it has not been found to reduce the risk of foodborne illness." That is, all cows still poop, whether the feedlot variety or the idyllic pasture-dwellers. And all plants still grow in dirt, where a bird might fly overhead and poop on it. Poop happens. But--and Booth never says this explicitly--some giant risks can be eliminated by buying our food carefully from farmers we trust. We can ask our fishermen, "Are these salmon wild, or were they raised like Chinese farmed tilapia and fed shovelfuls of pig and goose feces?" Or, "Tell me about how you raise your cattle," rather than eating hamburgers like Booth describes, "a don't-ask-don't-tell compilation of beef leftovers shaved from higher-quality cuts of meat in slaughterhouses ranging from Uruguay to Canada."

All in all, a recommended read for those interested in our nation's food supply.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

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This book is pretty in depth… It talks a lot about Salmonella and other foodborne illnesses. Not only does the author write about these foodborne illnesses, the author writes about how the FDA (and other government agencies responsible for certifying food) is so underfunded that it lacks the resources to protect the consumers.

I had known some of the information presented in this book already, from reading other books. I had already known about the issues with spinach, cantaloupe, and chicken but what I didn’t know is that spices are now a huge concern along with fish farmed over in Asian countries. Luckily for me, I cook my fish until it has reached a proper internal temperature and I usually cook my spices with my food.

This book was well written, it covers most of the recent food scares in a way that makes sure that the average reader will be able to understand what happened. The author obviously put a lot of time into the research of this book and is pretty thorough in covering all angles of the story.

If you’re the type to freak out about the food you eat (OMG, I don’t want my spinach grown in a fertilized field!) then don’t read this book. Spinach, and other fruits/veggies, are grown in the dirt and runoff from fields containing animals happens, even if the spinach field itself isn’t fertilized via animal waste. The average person at home just needs to be aware of that and understand the basics of washing/cooking foods. If you’re clueless about the proper way to protect yourself from foodborne illnesses from fresh produce/meat, the author provides a handy guide on how to do it.

Overall, I thought this book provided a lot of good information on the recent food scares and did a good job of educating the reader on what is wrong with the governments protection of food, but focused a little bit too much on the common sense prevention for consumers at home.

But, that being said, I am glad that I buy my spinach from Earthbound Farms seeing as how they’ve made huge changes to protect the consumer from another spinach crisis.

I received this book for review purposes via NetGalley.

[Ben Mangels · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book “Eating Dangerously” By Michael Booth and Jennifer Brown is very interesting and at the same time a little frightening to read. The authors detailed steps necessary to keep the food you buy safe to eat. The authors also exposed many of the dangers in the food system. I found particularly interesting the good information about how to start eating safely. The authors’ claim that “Nearly 50 million Americans will get food poisoning this year” highlights the importance of the information presented in the book and also makes me nervous about eating food I have not personally prepared.
The book is broken into two parts. The first part explores what is wrong with and the dangers in our food system. The second part explains how you can protect yourself from food poisoning and other food illnesses. Part one goes over that Major U.S. food farms will not get inspected by state officials or a federal agent very often. This part of the book made me feel skeptical about the food that you buy at the grocery store or at restaurants. It made me realize that we need to do something about our food systems if we want to stay healthy and not get sick. Part two gives great example on how to keep your kitchen clean and your food safe. Doing stuff like organizing the refrigerator to keep meets away from vegetables or not washing certain food in your sink.
This is a great book to read for almost any person. It talks about Salmonella and other illnesses related to food, so if you get uncomfortable reading about those topics the book might not be right for you. It makes you aware of the food problems that we have in the world. Reading the book might help a lot of people live their lives preparing and buying food safely and carefully. Overall the book was a great read and I would recommend it to basically everyone.

[Lynette (TheJadedReader) · Rating 1 out of 5]

File this under "Books that weren't what I thought they would be".

Having just read Read It Before You Eat It: How to Decode Food Labels and Make the Healthiest Choice Every Time, I thought this might be a bit more of an in-depth discussion on that. Mind you, I don't read book descriptions, which I've since decided that I WILL read them in non-fiction books to avoid situations like this one. So, the blame is on me.

I only read partway through chapter 2, and while I can admit that my curiosity was peaked, I knew that I couldn't keep going because I don't WANT to be afraid of my food. I currently am not afraid of my food. Cautious, yes. Afraid, no. I cook meats to the appropriate temp (and beyond), I wash produce, etc. I don't assume that my food comes to me "ready to eat".

I was roped into reading Skinny Bitch: A No-Nonsense, Tough-Love Guide for Savvy Girls Who Want to Stop Eating Crap and Start Looking Fabulous! years ago, and I feel like this is along those same lines.

...not for me.

[Catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Food safety book written by two Denver Post reporters who covered the 2011 cantaloupe listeria outbreak. Well written (albeit often repetitive), with good information on safe handling of food, most of which any properly paranoid person will already know. It was interesting to learn that stomach ailments are almost universally caused by food-borne illness -– not always from tainted food consumed by the victim, but often simply because many food-borne ailments are highly contagious. Also interesting to read about the inexplicable division of food safety enforcement between the FDA and the USDA. I do not recommend this as the book to dive into if you are up with insomnia.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first part tells you to be afraid (very afraid) of our food but the second part tells how to eat safely. I had already been introduced to most everything in the book through online or periodical articles. For example, I already knew it is no longer recommended you wash chicken before cooking. This book explains the who, what, when, why and how of modern food safety clearly and completely and yet is easy to read.

[Cecelia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I would not recommend this book. It's very repetitive and not very informative. But, I did learn a few things:
1-there was a big listeria outbreak from cantaloupe in 2011
2-wash melons (watermelon, cantaloupe, etc) before eating
3-lunch meat causes approximately 104 deaths a year...don't eat lunch meat
4-sprouts are grown in warm, humid conditions that contribute to the growth of bacteria...don't eat sprouts.

[Gina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Most of us in the United States assume that the food we buy is safe to eat; the book alerts us to various outbreaks of food poisoning and failed government action which prove otherwise. However, by washing fresh produce, cooking meat properly and using common sense (don't cut your carrots on the same board you just cut your raw chicken) you will be able to reduce your chances of eating any spoiled, doctored or infected food.

[Azabu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Booth and Brown of The Denver Post offer a clear, concise account of what to beware of while supermarket shopping with some easy to follow advice. Opening with a chilling reminder about how contaminated cantaloupe killed consumers in 2011 , they list spinach, peanuts and eggs as culprits in other recent outbreaks . Per data from the Centers for Disease Control the riskiest foods to eat are sprouts, ground turkey and raw milk! Wash off everything, rinse it at least!

[Heather Bennett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eating Dangerously is a eye opening book at the food we eat. This book may give you nightmares or may make you eat at home more. Our food is so contaminated and dangerous most people don't even think about it until there are people dying over bad food. Everyone should read this book and it will make them cook and eat better.

[Jerene · Rating 2 out of 5]

Book contradicted itself in several places regarding food safety, gave one sided data in others. Rather biased. Example: urging readers to never eat sprouts, since they are often contaminated with bacteria. How about offering the concept of sprouting your own?

[Trishtator · Rating 3 out of 5]

An air of sensationalism, and enough information about food-borne illness for me to believe everyone should learn about good food handling practices and then not overly worry about spinach and canteloupes.

[Ariadna73 · Rating 2 out of 5]

meh. This is just cheap terrorism.

[Jess · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very informative read.