Fox News fearmongered about the costs of proposed federal food safety regulations without informing viewers that foodborne illnesses sicken millions of Americans annually and lead to the deaths of 3,000 people per year.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the Food and Drug Administration has proposed two food safety regulations -- not yet finalized and still subject to public input -- which, among other safeguards, would require “science- and risk-based standards at fruit and vegetable farms and packing facilities.”
On the April 2 edition of Happening Now, Fox News host Jon Scott and correspondent Shannon Bream reported in detail what one conservative policy group estimated the rules, if adopted, would cost the agriculture industry. While the Fox figures paid brief lip service to the issue of public health -- Bream said that “it's a worthy goal, of course, keeping the food supply safe” -- they omitted any other discussion of consumer safety and the problem of foodborne illness outbreaks.
Specifically, Scott and Bream failed to inform viewers that, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 48 million Americans suffer from foodborne illness every year, and contaminated food is responsible for 3,000 deaths annually.
While Bream cited “critics” who claim the new regulations “may be completely unnecessary,” a rash of E. coli, salmonella and listeria outbreaks made national headlines in 2012 as the proposed rules were being crafted. Here are a few food safety stories Fox News ignored while questioning the need for stronger food safety rules:
FDA Halts Operations At Peanut Butter Plant Linked To Salmonella Outbreak
Tainted Cantaloupes: How Long Will Listeria Outbreak Continue?
Recalled Wegmans salads linked to local hospitalizations
Spinach Recalled For Salmonella Risk
Pork Investigation By 'Consumer Reports' Finds Rampant Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria
Kellogg Company Recalls Mini-Wheats. Metal Fragments In Cereal