MSU’s National Food Safety and Toxicology Center is leading state agencies in implementing the nation’s first Web site for reporting food poisoning.
The site will allow people to go online, answer a 15-minute questionnaire about foods they’ve consumed in the last 48 hours and view postings from other citizens.
Veterinary epidemiology Professor Paul Bartlett is heading the project.
He said the site, which is planned to be in place by fall, is meant to supplement the current system.
“It’s sort of a screening device to find suspicious clusters that warrant investigation,” Bartlett said. “It lowers the radar screen.”
According to Bartlett, only 1 or 2 percent of food poisoning cases are actually reported in Michigan. The project’s goal is to increase the number of reported cases so the causes of outbreaks can be held accountable and people can be treated.
The project, headed by the center, is funded through a $600,000 grant from the Michigan Life Sciences Corridor. The center brought together epidemiologists from the Michigan Department of Community Health, the Michigan Department of Agriculture and other health officials.
John Tilden, food safety manager for the Michigan Department of Agriculture, said the project is a partnership of all the necessary agencies.
“With MSU’s leadership, we’ve got all the major players in food safety working to make this happen,” he said. “It’s really exciting that all these people could come together with the end goal of preventing illnesses and saving lives.”
Project manager Holly Wethington said her goal is for the planned tricounty site to go statewide.
“It all depends on its acceptance and financial circumstances,” Wethington said. “The whole goal is just to prevent more people from getting sick.”
Bartlett also cited the growing concern of bioterrorism as a driving force for the site.
“Now that we’re looking at the possibility of food-borne bioterrorism, we just can’t afford to be unprepared,” he said. “Outbreaks go so far and so fast.”
Someone who thinks they may have experienced food poisoning can either call or submit a written report to his or her local health department.
According to Bartlett, if there was an outbreak, 30 phone calls would be indistinguishable from 300 calls because the lines would be tied up.
“The Web site gives us the capability to collect thousands of records,” Bartlett said.
MSU students are divided on whether the site would be something they would utilize.
Andrew Reinink, a physiology junior, doesn’t think students would take advantage of the site.
“I’d be more worried about throwing up or dying than sitting down at a computer to report what food I’ve eaten,” Reinink said.
“I don’t think it would be very widely used unless an epidemic broke out in the cafeteria or something.”
