Each year up to 81 million Americans suffer from a foodborne illness; out of this number, 9,100 of them die (Gavzer 1997). By recognizing the specific cases that have involved food poisoning, this number can be put into perspective with much greater ease. In August of 1997, Hudson Foods ordered the largest recall in history-25 million pounds of hamburger patties-which resulted from the deadly bacterium known as E. coli 0517:H7. During the spring of 1997, imported raspberries contaminated with the parasite cyclospora sickened thousands of people in 29 states. Just last year, the United States Department of Agriculture inspectors discovered E. coli 0517:H7 in ground beef that was shipped to a Virginia grocery by Beef America, resulting in yet another large recall. And to add to these incidents, earlier this month, some 746 people were sickened by Salmonella heidelberg after eating ham stuffed with vegetables and spices at a Sunday night church dinner in rural Maryland (Spake 72).
             The numbers and circumstances involving food poisonings are very distressing, since they directly impact the well-being of the citizens of our nation. Due to its relentless ability to transpire, this issue has demanded more and more focus as time has progressed. Most of its attention has recently been centralized on the food processing plants; in particular, the methods and standard operating procedures under which they provide food for consumption. One of the debates that has been brought up over food processing concentrates on who has the authority to establish and administer to these methods and procedures. While private industries would prefer to have the authority to construct their own protocols and carry out the inspections of their facilities; consumer groups, as well as government agencies, find it unquestionably necessary that the government has absolute authority over the regulation of food processing plants.
             This debate ov...