Kansas Legislators’ Opinions about Food Safety Regulation of Hunger Relief Organizations

Adam P. Inman

Assistant Program Manager

Kansas Department of Agriculture

International Food Protection Training Institute (IFPTI)

2012 Fellow in Applied Science, Law, and Policy: Fellowship in Food Protection

Abstract

There are many organizations and individuals in the United States dedicated to addressing the concern of food insecurity. The volume and complexity of food handled by hunger relief organizations and individuals presents a risk to public health. The regulation of these organizations is an important component of maintaining food safety. This study explored the opinions of Kansas State Legislators from the Agriculture and Health and Human Services Committees about food safety regulation of food donations. A survey of these legislators was administered and analyzed. Although legislators expressed concern about food safety, the respondents did not seem to be aware of the potential health risks associated with food handling practices of hunger relief organizations. 

Background

An estimated 50.1 million people in the United States, including 16.7 million children, suffer from food insecurity i.e., not enough access to food and/or nutrition. In 2011, 14.9 percent of US households experienced food insecurity during part of the year (Coleman-Jensen, Nord, Andrews, & Carlson, 2012).  

There are many hunger relief organizations in the United States that are supported by tens of thousands of volunteers annually.  For example, one hunger relief organization, the Society of St. Andrew, reported 30,779 volunteers in 2011 (Gross & Hickock, 2011). In addition, efforts to alleviate food insecurity are taken up by many other volunteers who operate independently of any formal organization. Hunger relief organizations receive food donations from all parts of the food supply system including food processors, food distributors, food retailers, restaurants, and private citizens.

Another example of a hunger relief organization is Feeding America, a national charity with 202 member regional food banks. These food banks distribute food to thousands of agencies that provide food to the food insecure. In 2010, Feeding America served 37 million people annually and 5.7 million people in any given week (Mabli, Cohen, Potter, & Zhao, 2010).

In 2011, 14.5% of Kansas households experienced food insecurity during part of the year (Coleman-Jenson et al., 2012). Kansas has a variety of hunger relief organizations ranging from warehouses to operations that provide groceries or serve meals directly to the recipient.

Hunger relief organizations face the same food safety challenges as any other component of the food system. However, there may be additional steps in the supply chain that add risk. For example, some organizations accept donations of leftover food from restaurants, caterers, food processors, and even private citizens. Many people do not understand the food safety risks associated with food preparation. Cody and Hogue (2003) found that consumers generally do not associate foodborne illness with home preparation. However, according to Redmond and Griffith (2003), foods consumed at home contributed to approximately 87% of reported foodborne outbreaks, and restaurants and other group dining facilities contributed approximately 28%. Consumers may prepare food in their homes and donate the food to hunger relief organizations.

Understanding the risks to the food donation segment of the food system is complicated by a lack of data. Only a small proportion of foodborne illnesses are diagnosed and reported (Scallan, et al., 2011). The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) collects information about gastrointestinal illnesses in the National Outbreak Reporting System using form CDC 52.13. This CDC form does not does not include hunger relief organizations as potential locations of exposure, which limits the usefulness of the CDC’s Foodborne Outbreak Online Database to determine the numbers of foodborne illnesses associated with hunger relief organizations.

While there have been no reports of a foodborne illness outbreak associated with a hunger relief organization in Kansas, nationally there were at least two such outbreaks reported in the media in the past three years. In October 2010, 26 people were diagnosed with food poisoning after eating at the Chattanooga, TN Community Kitchen (Staff, 2010), and in July 2012, about 60 people were hospitalized with a suspected foodborne illness after eating at a Denver rescue mission. Many of the victims were believed to be homeless, leaving them to deal with their illnesses in the alleys and streets of the city (Denver Post, 2012).

Multiple factors influence the enforcement of food safety regulations in hunger relief organizations, including public opinion. An example of the effect of public opinion is a case of two hunger relief organizations in Kansas. The first hunger relief organization (Organization A) serves, on average, 183.5 meals daily to food insecure people including families, the homeless, the physically or mentally disabled, and low-income individuals. Meals are prepared in private residences and brought to the service location. In 2003, another hunger relief organization (Organization B) complained that, unlike Organization B, Organization A did not have a food safety license and did not receive food safety inspections. In response to the complaint, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) inspected Organization A. The inspection cited food from unapproved sources, specifically food prepared in private homes. The inspection report was met with strong resistance from the public and KDHE “quickly reversed course” according to the media (Lawrence Journal World, 2003). This incident also highlighted inconsistencies in licensing and inspection of hunger relief organizations. 

Another factor influencing the enforcement of food safety regulations in hunger relief organizations is legislative activity. In 2008, legislation modified the Kansas Food Service and Lodging Act to exempt from food safety licensure food service establishments that are operated to raise funds for certain organizations or purposes, including humanitarian purposes. One effect of the change was that fundraising activities involving food service to support soup kitchens and food pantries would not require a food safety license. However, soup kitchens and food pantries would still be required to have a food safety license. In other words, the soup kitchen would be licensed and inspected, but the “chili feed” held to raise funds to support the soup kitchen would not.

In 2012, based on perceptions of public, media, and legislative opinions, and in response to the 2008 law change, the Kansas Department of Agriculture (KDA) created a statutory exemption from food safety licensure for hunger relief organizations, defined as “organizations that offer, without charge, food to the food insecure.” The exemption from food safety licensing effectively ended food safety inspections of these operations. However, hunger relief organizations that provide food for further distribution are still required to have a food safety license.

Problem Statement

Given the volume and complexity of foods managed and handled by hunger relief organizations, food safety regulations pertaining to such organizations must be appropriate and effective. The opinions of legislators who create the laws that impact food safety regulation of hunger relief organizations are not well documented.  

Research Questions

1.     What is the self-reported knowledge level of key Kansas legislators about the risks of foodborne illness associated with donated food?

2.     How do these key Kansas Legislators support regulatory food safety activities related to food donations in Kansas?

3.     How do these key Kansas Legislators support using tax dollars to fund regulatory food safety activities for food donations in Kansas?

Methodology

A five-item electronic survey was designed for this study using SurveyMonkey™. Each survey item had a comment field. The invitation to participate in the survey and a link to the survey was sent by email to the 57 legislators on the respective Kansas House and Senate Agriculture and Health and Human Services Committees. The legislators’ email addresses were obtained from public directories. These legislators were selected because they play a significant role in advancing legislation that impacts regulatory activity regarding hunger relief organizations.

The survey results were compiled using nominal data-reporting frequencies.

Results

·       Eleven (11) of 57 legislators completed the survey, which is a response rate of 19.3%.

·       A majority (54.5%) of the respondents felt that they were not knowledgeable about food safety control measures regarding donated food. The only written comment provided for question one was, “do know about the ‘good samaritan’ state law [sic]”.

·       None of the respondents were aware of any occurrence of foodborne illness outbreaks in the past two years associated with food donations to the food insecure.

·       Seventy-two percent (72.3%) of the respondents agreed or strongly agreed that food donated to the food insecure should meet basic food safety requirements.    

·       Forty-five percent (45.5%) of the respondents agreed or strongly agreed that Kansas food safety regulatory authorities should inspect facilities such as soup kitchens and food pantries where donated foods are stored, prepared, or distributed, while 18.2% were neutral and 27.2% disagreed. Two comments were provided for question four. First, “State inspectors are more interested in ’finding’ problems and preserving their positions than safety”. Second, “soup kitchens and food pantries should follow basic food safety measures.”

·       Twenty-seven percent (27.2%) of the respondents agreed or strongly agreed that Kansas tax dollars should be used to help regulate food donations, while 18.2% were neutral and 45.5% disagreed or strongly disagreed.

Conclusions

Although the respondents indicated that food safety is generally important, the responses imply a lack of understanding of the risks associated with food donations.

While 45.5% of respondents agreed that government food safety inspections should occur, they did not want to use tax dollars to fund the inspections. The lack of a funding mechanism for food safety regulatory activities pertaining to donated foods creates a dilemma for agencies in setting policy and using constrained resources to support food safety work – thereby creating a risk for consumers involving donated foods.  

Respondents were divided about whether food safety regulatory interventions are necessary or have an impact on food safety.

Recommendations

          Based on the results of the survey, there is an opportunity to provide outreach to the Kansas Legislature about food safety in general and specifically pertaining to food donations to the food insecure. The KDA should consider scheduling a series of seminars with key legislative leaders, including discussions to explore the best way to fund food safety efforts related to hunger relief organizations.

The Association of Food and Drug Officials (AFDO) should consider developing a position statement supporting efforts of state regulatory officials to protect food insecure persons from unsafe donations, and distribute this position statement to organizations of state legislatures. Additionally, AFDO should also consider partnering with national organizations such as Feeding America to establish best practices for food donations.

CDC should consider adding a category entitled “Hunger Relief Organization (soup kitchen, food pantry, etc.)” as a location of exposure in the National Outbreak Reporting System form CDC 52.13 to allow data capture for the Foodborne Outbreak Online Database.

Finally, further research about the extent of food safety risks of donated foods should be conducted.

Acknowledgments

I owe many thanks to my Fellowship Mentor Joseph Corby, Executive Director of the Association of Food and Drug Officials. I am indebted to my colleagues at the Kansas Department of Agriculture, especially Jackie McClaskey, Assistant Secretary Erik Wisner, Policy Director, and Steve Moris, Food Safety Program Manager who each provided guidance, support, and insight. I also wish to thank Preston Hicks, PhD., Vice President of Resource Development at the Global Food Protection Institute for his guidance and passion for my project. Gerald Wojtala, Executive Director of IFPTI and Dr. Craig Kaml, Vice President of Curriculum at IFPTI, provided invaluable guidance, and Chris Weiss, Director, Research and Dissemination at IFPTI, provided laser-like editing. I am grateful for the support of my peers in the Fellowship, as well as the wonderful IFPTI staff. Last, but certainly not least, I am forever indebted to my family for supporting me and keeping the home fires burning.

References

Cody, M. M., & Hogue, M. A. (2003). Results of the Home Food Safety-It's in Your Hands 2002 survey:comparisons to the 1999 benchmark survey and the Healthy People 2010 food safety behaviors objective. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 103:1115-25.

Coleman-Jensen, A., Nord, M., Andrews, M., & Carlson, S. (2012). Household Food Security in the United States in 2011. United States Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service.

Denver Post. (2012, July 24). Denver health investigators probing tainted meal that sickened 60. Retrieved from:  http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_21141863/denver-health-investigators-probing-tainted-meal-that-sickened

Denver Post. (2012, August 3). Staph-related toxin made Rescue Mission clients sick, probe says. Retrieved from: http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_21228274/staph-related-toxin-made-rescue-mission-clients-sick

Gross, M., & Hickock, M. (2011). Society of St. Andrew 2011 Annual Report. Retrieved from: http://www.endhunger.org/news_room/Financial/AnnualReport.pdf

Lawrence Journal World. (2003, September 27). Retrieved from:  http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2003/sep/27/link_has_close/?print

Mabli, J., Cohen, R., Potter, F., & Zhao, Z. (2010). Hunger In America 2010. Mathematica Policy Research, Inc.

Redmond, E. C., & Griffith, C. J. (2003). Consumer food handling in the home: A review of food safety studies. Journal of Food Protection, 66:130-61.

Scallan, E., Hoekstra, R. M., Angulo, F. J., Tauxe, R. V., Widdowson, M. A., Roy, S. L.,  Griffin, P. M. (2011). Foodborne Illness Acquired in the United States—Major Pathogens. Emerging Infectious Diseases.

Staff. (2010, 10 14). 26 get food poisoning from Community Kitchen. Retrieved from WRCBtv.com: http://www.wrcbtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=13322471

WhyHunger. (2013, March 15). Community Food Projects (CFP) Database. Retrieved from http://www.whyhunger.org/search?name=&city=&state=&country=&zip=&orderBy=0&onlyCfp=1&year=&focusArea=&orgGov=0&optionIds=&page=1