Safe Food - Bacteria, Biotechnology and Bioterrorism

This book is a follow-up to Marion Nestle's acclaimed 'Food Politics' and is subtitled 'bacteria, biotechnology and bioterrorism'. It is a brilliant analysis of the political and economic forces that drive food safety regulation. Although her introduction states that food safety is a political matter, economics is inextricably bound up with it: large food companies make considerable political donations - mainly to the Republican Party - and expect a payoff that is reinforced by the power of lobbies creating a favourable climate for regulation. Not unnaturally, they would also like a good return on a huge investment outlay. Nestle begins with the Starlink Corn affair and the safety issue of allergenicity, moving on in the first part to a consideration of the politics of foodborne illness (especially those caused by meat) and then the debate about GM foods. One of her most useful insight is a comparison between 'science-based' and 'value-based' risk assessments. The estimation of risk is scientific, its acceptability is political. Most of the treatment is American but the book has worldwide implications and can be highly recommended.