Page 96 - Cityview_May_June_2014

Sensational Reporting Fails to Educate

Tennesseans about Public Health

by mark Spurlock

At least 25 on-campus diners were million Americans affected, 128,000 The News on the Numbers

stricken with fever, abdominal pain, require hospitalization—and more than Restaurant meals account for almost
diarrhea, and vomiting last year at the 3,000 die.
half of the typical family’s food budget,

university of Tennessee Chattanooga Incongruously, Chattanooga Cross- and the average Knoxvillian eats out
(uTC). After an investigation, authori- roads Cafeteria, one of the uTC dining more than 200 times per year. In

ties concluded that chicken contami- establishments where contaminated contrast to preparing a meal at home in
nated with salmonella and campylo- chicken was likely served, scored the familiar environment of one’s own

bacter (a bacteria) were the culprits.
consistently high on the county health kitchen, dining at a restaurant means
The danger of food-borne illnesses is department’s periodic and unan- trusting the hygienic practices of the

real: A 2013 study by the united King- nounced inspections, earning marks restaurant’s staff in a kitchen rarely
dom’s food Standards Agency found between 95 and 99 out of 100 pos-
visible to those dining. Consequently,

that two-thirds of store-bought raw sible points. Even after the outbreak,
a television or newspaper story calling
chicken contained the same campy- a review of the inspection and food- attention to a poor health report for

lobacter as was present in the Chat- handling processes revealed no specific an eatery assumes disproportionate
tanooga outbreak. In the united States, problems. The disconnect between the significance because we as consumers

we like to think that our safeguards cafeteria’s score and an undetected, have no other ready means to measure
and standards minimize our risk, but potentially fatal health hazard illus- whether a given establishment serves

according to the Centers for Disease trates a misconception by the public— food that is safe for our consumption.
Control, more than 76 million times a often fed by sensation-seeking media Not only do health department

year an American becomes sick from reports—about what inspection scores scores sometimes give restaurant
something he or she ate. of the 48
really mean.
patrons a false sense of security—as in

94 cityviewmag.com may june 2014