New York State Steps Up Food Testing to Protect Consumers

I’ve gone through my fair share of bouts with the flu and each time, the bug made me miserable but there’s no sickness that’s ever come remotely close to how awful I felt when I was pregnant and got food poisoning.

I was literally so weak, and so sick that I had to lay on my bathroom floor until I was able to go a good amount of time without getting violently ill all over the place. I was terrified for my unborn baby, and remember laying there, completely helpless, wondering if what I was feeling was what a slow and painful death felt like.

Food poisoning is nothing to mess around with and can be especially deadly for the elderly, pregnant women, small children, and people who have compromised immune systems.

With all of the food recalls we’ve been having lately, New York state has taken notice and according to Governor Cuomo, the state is stepping up to do more about growing food concerns by expanding its testing of foods and beverages.

In 2016, New York state tested nearly 67,000 samples, which is an increase of 10% from 2015 and the number of tested samples will continue to grow in 2017.

New York state lab tests are to thank for more than 300 recalls in 2016. The state lab is keeping an eye out for both impurities and things that can be hazardous to our health. They also check to make sure food and beverage labels are correct and products are what they claim to be.

We're only just stepped into the third month of 2017, but the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets has already issued several recalls.

[via New York State Department of Agriculture/New York State Office of the Governor]