Chicago Heights resident Stephanie Petersen was concerned by how many food recalls she saw daily on the Food and Drug Administration website. “There was, like, (multiple) recalls every single day. And a lot of salmonella, listeria, a lot of different things,” Petersen said.
“I was like, what is going on? It’s so many.” Petersen, an occupational therapy student who posts regularly on social media about health, started creating TikTok videos in August where she updates followers on the latest recalls. She includes information like dates, severity, screenshots from the FDA website and news sources.
“I’m just doing it to help and keep everybody safe,” Petersen said. “All I say is just, you know, stay on top of the recalls.” Recent food recalls have raised concerns among consumers about food safety and regulation.
But experts said the issue is complicated due to factors like increased regulation, better technology and more public awareness. “There’s no crystal ball that will ever keep us (at) 100% protection just because of the nature of food that we eat and where it’s coming from,” said Brian Schaneberg, executive director of the Institute for Food Safety and Health at Illinois Tech. The FDA regulates about 78% of the U.
S. food supply except for meat, poultry and some fish products, which are overseen by the U.S.
Department of Agriculture. Food recalls are issued after companies find problems, consumers report health issues or regulators conduct testin.