Everybody's in favor of food safety but not everyone agrees about how to get there from here. Consumer groups want tougher regulation and more frequent inspection of food processing plants and farms. While almost no one opposes this, many public health scientists think irradiation could go a long way towards killing many of the pathogens that sicken thousands of Americans each year.

There's not likely to be agreement anytime soon. A big part of the problem is the highly industrialized nature of food production. Never before has food been grown in such vast quantities and shipped over such great distances before it reaches our table. Writing from India, globe-trotting correspondent Tom Glaister examines the issue in Industrial "Food" a Growing Menace.

Government sites

Food recalls are handled by both the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service.