In Food We Trust: The Politics of Purity in American Food Regulation

288 Pages·2014·3.046 MB·English

by  Courtney I. P. Thomas

in food we trust
AT TABLE
In Food
We Trust
The Politics of Purity in
American Food Regulation
Courtney I. P. Thomas
University of Nebraska Press | Lincoln and London
© 2014 by the Board of Regents of
the University of Nebraska
Portions of this book have previously appeared,
in different form, in “The Problem with Purity:
Market Failures, Foodborne Contamination,
and the Search for Accountability in the
U.S. Food Safety Regulatory Regime,” Food
Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal 1, no. 1.
All rights reserved
Manufactured in the United States of America
Library of Congress Cataloging-
in- Publication Data
Thomas, Courtney Irene Powell, author.
In food we trust: the politics of
purity in American food regulation
/ Courtney I. P. Thomas.
pages cm— (At table)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn 978- 0- 8032- 5481- 7 (hardback: alk. paper)
i sbn 978- 0- 8032- 7640- 6 (epub)
i sbn 978- 0- 8032-7 641-3 (mobi)
i sbn 978- 0- 8032- 7642- 0 (pdf)
1. Food adulteration and inspection— Law and
legislation— United States. 2. Food adulteration
and inspection— Law and legislation— United
States— History. 3. Food adulteration and
inspection— United States— History. I. Title.
kf3878.t48 2014
363.19'2560973— dc23
2014012254
Set in Minion and Meta by L. Auten.
Designed by N. Putens.
For Granny Audrey and Grandpa Lee
and my children, Sonya, Marie, Bettie,
and Levi, with all my love.

Contents
List of Illustrations ix
Preface xi
Acknowledgments xv
Introduction: A Twentieth- Century Problem 1
part 1. the u.s. food safety regulatory regime
1. Escape from the Jungle 17
2. The Cranberry Crisis 41
3. Science and Politics Collide 58
part 2. crises, scandals, and food safety regulation
4. Models of Food Safety Regulation 79
5. Pandora’s Jack in the Box 100
6. From Spinach to gaps 121
part 3. a new regime for the twenty- first century
7. The Peanut Butter Crisis 143
8. The Future of Food Safety 162
Epilogue: A Twenty- First-C entury Mandate 187
Appendix A: Recall List from 2008–9
Peanut Outbreak 205
Appendix B: Food Safety Proposals
before the 111th Congress 223
Notes 233
Bibliography 245
Index 257
Illustrations
figures
1. Economic governance, regulatory regimes, and
accountability mechanisms 83
tables
1. Food safety crises and market failures 10