Poisoned: il pericolo nel piatto

STAR RATING: ***** Brilliant **** Very Good *** Okay ** Poor * Awful

In the early 90's, an outbreak of e-coli swept the United States, leading to mass hospitalisations and even deaths. This was followed shortly afterwards by an outbreak of salmonella that caused similar havoc, and the fingers all pointed back to factory farming methods, and the lax standards that were followed, as well as corporate pressure to meet targets rather than ensure safety. But the outbreak was not confined merely to the meat industry, but also to other unlikely sources, including green food such as salad.

One of the 'Brexit Benefits' hailed to many of the population was a trade deal on food with the United States, which was countered with their use of 'chlorinated chicken', and the unhygienic methods employed in the U. S. industry in comparison to the more regulated European model. To date, that appears to have been averted, however this documentary from writer Jeff Benedict and director Stephanie Soechtig casts a more unnerving spectre on the food we consume on a daily basis in general.

If the dodgy practices of the food companies whose bottom line is to make a buck are unsurprising, you'd like to think the regulatory agencies whose primary role is to keep the public safe would be reliable, but as Soechtig's documentary unravels, it's hard to decipher which one is which, or which department is even responsible for what. A certification of safety from any agency is revealed as no guarantee of safety, leaving an even more unsettling feeling in the stomach.

A short, sharp stab at an industry geared to a specific human need, Soechtig's film reveals itself as further proof that Netflix can still pull a decent documentary out the bag when it needs to. ****

No pun intended - everything connected with food is ... well I understand people may feel quite weird about this. And if you are easily convinced of things ... and this does not only include meat (mostly going after chickens, though sometimes also feels like it is an add for a specific institution, that says it is above the others) ... it has some things to say about your salad too! Yes nothing is safe ... again: maybe not take it literally.

Also try to follow some of the tips, because if you want to see something evil, you will see something ... this also concentrates on America! It seems that they do have quite a few issues over there ... their food control is not the best (contrary to what politicians keep saying) ... FDA - not ftw for sure (no pun intended) ...

Don't listen to anyone's reviews or political ideologies unless you've watched it yourself. This documentary will not provide any new information about our corporate controlled food systems and the regulatory capture of government oversight. However, it does an excellent job of providing narratives and interviews from all stakeholders involved. Consumers, regulators, producers, lobbyists, scientists, and government officials are given a chance to tell their story. You will have enough information to make better choices for yourself and your family. At the end of the day, you can't trust anyone involved in creating the problem to solve that problem.

Everyone, especially Americans, should watch this. Reports of E.coli and salmonella outbreaks have become almost ubiquitous nowadays that we might have become inured to them. But the danger is real. The segment showing a baby dying from E.coli O157 is the most heartbreaking scene I've ever watched onscreen.

It's outrageous how food-producing companies seem to consider their products to be mere commodities, not thinking about how their products would affect consumers. Imagine faking the results of positive salmonella tests so they'd show negative results. Or ignoring complaints about undercooked hamburgers because cooking them more would toughen the meat. Or ignoring reports that processing facilities have live rats or bird crap. Or planting romaine lettuce close to livestock farms where animal waste contaminates the water used to irrigate the crops. These are criminal, causing consumers to get sick and even die. Why are executives of these companies given relatively light sentences considering the danger they've exposed people to?

Consumers, this is up to us. Nope, washing fruits and salad greens would not always do because pathogens that may get into crops from irrigation water contaminated with diseased animal waste need to be cooked to be killed. And cooking meat is not enough either because first, meat needs to be cooked to at least 140-degrees F for E.coli to be killed. Second, a pathogen-infested meat can easily contaminate the house if not handled extra extra extra carefully.

We need to make the government know we care about not getting comatose, having damaged liver or dying from pathogens in our food. Better yet, elect officials who care more for us consumers than their buddies, the executives/managers of food producing companies. Most of all, don't elect presidents who don't have enough sense not to appoint regulators whose research had been funded by the same companies they are regulating.

Europe can sell chicken products marked "pathogen-free". Why can't it be done in the US? Why can't we just do things that are right without putting politics in the middle? Politics would be the death of us. Truly.

Actually terrifying to realize how dangerous food is and even more terrifying to realize that the people that are responsible for the production and manufacturing of that food literally do not care if you live or die, only that they made money off of you. Definitely a must watch for all Americans. Hopefully the attention from this documentary increase food, safety awareness and drives Congress to be more proactive and make some changes. This documentary was put together very well and I like how they're conducted their own study with the 150 chicken pieces. Very educational and frightening. Definitely recommend for all Americans, as I previously stated.