"That which is not inspected deteriorates"

To learn about how policy, science, and markets get food to the shops, I went along to last week's Brighton Cafe Sci. It featured Prof. Erik Millstone talking on the science and politics of food security.  

Highlights:

Good news: because bacteria in food make you ill quickly, the food industry does a good job of using science to protect you. That's because it's relatively easy to trace food poisoning back to its origin.

Bad news: there's no such incentive for long-term health. Prof. Millstone is glad that attention to ultraprocessed food is getting traction. 

On food safety, he's concerned there's not enough effort going into inspection. He quoted Eisenhower: "that which is not inspected deteriorates". This is depressingly similar to the problems with water treatment in the UK, and the failings of the Environment Agency. 

On commercial interests, he's happy for food companies to pay for research and inspection, but very much not happy with them doing it. See above, re: water treatment. Same problem.

The larger point being made is that you cannot separate food security from politics. Left alone, the market is volatile as well as unsafe.