On food safety, err on side of caution

By now, most Americans have learned to err on the side of caution when buying food that has been subject to a recall of any size.

In recent years, the names of troubled brands have slowly trickled out, one by one, as the Food and Drug Administration and others investigate reports of contamination. From the consumer's perspective, it's simply safer to avoid all brands of the affected food for a while rather than risk eating something that will make them sick or even kill them.

In an unusual move, the FDA recently took a similar play-it-safe approach following the recall of salmonella-tainted products handled by Setton Pistachio, the nation's second-largest processor of the nuts. Instead of a recall focused solely on Setton and the companies it supplied, federal officials went further and issued a broad warning that consumers should avoid eating all pistachios and products that contained them.

The basic message - "hold on, while we look into this further" - was a welcome step for the FDA. Over the years, the agency and its food-inspecting partner, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, have gone too far in letting industry regulate itself and have been too slow to respond when patterns of food-borne illnesses emerge.

But pistachio growers are justifiably upset by the scope of the warning. "We were floored," Larry Easterling, a California farmer told The Fresno Bee. "Why is the whole industry being blackballed? You can't stop an industry in its tracks."

When it comes to public food safety, issuing a broad warning is better than providing too little information. But it should be possible to achieve a middle point between overreaction and underreaction - for the good of consumers, as well as folks like Easterling who make a living providing food for grocery store shelves and restaurants.

The Obama administration has pledged to reform the nation's food inspection process by eliminating wasteful and inefficient overlaps in the FDA and the USDA and by taking steps to help ensure sufficient, quality inspections occur. The reform should be a priority.

For now, however, quick and broad warnings - following by quick but thorough assessments to identify specifically which brands are safe and which aren't - serve the interests of public health better than a plodding, we'll-let-you-know-when-people-start-dying approach.