Experts wary despite food safety strides

NEW YORK, May 11 (UPI) -- Public health experts say food safety in the United States is vastly improved compared to a century ago despite recent outbreaks and product recalls.

The New York Times said Monday while products have been recalled for containing salmonella or the chemical melamine in recent years, experts estimate current food safety levels may even surpass those from 10 years ago.

Nonetheless, Caroline Smith DeWaal of the Center for Science in the Public Interest said such recent food safety incidents indicate a need for increased product monitoring.

"Those are warning signs that we need to get a better system in place rapidly," the center's director of food safety said. "The trends clearly show that consumers should be more worried about the food supply because the hazards are becoming more pronounced."

Seattle lawyer William Marler, who handles legal cases involving food-borne illnesses, told the Times while food safety cases may occasionally decline, new contamination types eventually appear.

"It's like the Dutch boy putting his finger in the dike," Marler said. "When you put your finger in one hole, another emerges."