A move to make fresh US produce safer
A series of food-illness outbreaks has pushed the FDA to issue new voluntary guidelines this week.
from the March 16, 2007 edition
Page 3 of 3
Safety challenges are growing as the FDA employs fewer inspectors, while imports and consumption of raw fruits and vegetable are growing, Kohl said, noting that in 2006 the FDA conducted half the number of inspections it did in 2003. Safety tests for food produced in the US have also dropped by 75 percent from 2003, he added.
Because of such high-profile incidents, the past six months have been a "watershed for the industry," says Dave Gombas, vice president of scientific affairs for the United Fresh Produce Association. "These guidelines are just one step in a much longer process to win back the confidence of the consumer." So-called fresh-cut produce is the newest and biggest challenge, Mr. Gombas says, because it is minimally processed, with no "kill step" to ensure safety.
His comments spotlight one intangible in the new debate: how much can increased care by both producers and consumers improve safety.
"I do not believe we are any safer, nor any less safe, than we were before the spinach outbreak, except that awareness is raised as to the magnitude of damage that can be done to human health and the produce industry," says Linda Halley, general manager of Fairview Gardens, an organic farm in Goleta, California.
That awareness could motivate "more producers and processors to really implement all the facets of the guidelines," she adds.
"Mandating inspections or certifications for producers of raw product ... would be difficult to enforce and overly burdensome on the small producer."
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