To test (for food pathogens) or not to test?

An intriguing piece by Shawn Stevens To date this year, approximately 20,000,000 pounds of packaged food products have been recalled for the presence of pathogens. This number does not include the nearly 20,000,000 pounds of eggs that have been pulled off store shelves as a result of the recent egg recall, or the millions of pounds of romaine lettuce that is no longer being processed, purchased or plated as a result of the ongoing E. coli O157:H7 outbreak. Could more testing have prevented these products from making it into consumer’s homes? The logical answer is yes, more testing would likely have identified many, if not virtually all, of these issues. With that said, I also know from experience that many naysayers will argue that you can “never test to zero,” and more testing “is worthless” and “a waste of money and time.” Well, perhaps, given the massive amount of product recalled so far this year, that attitude is the root cause of the problem. @ http://www.meatingplace.com/Industry/Blogs/Details/79599