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Yesterday, the USDA and FDA released a joint statement on their intent to coordinate efforts to achieve better produce safety. See Salinas Valley, Leafy Green Vegetables, and E. coli for a description and summary of the problem. The joint statement reads as follows:
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Food and Drug Administration
The 2000 movie called “The Perfect Storm” loosely chronicled the destruction of an Atlantic nor’easter that formed due to the random convergence of several destructive weather patterns. Twelve people died in the storm, including six sword fishermen aboard the Andrea Gail (captained by George Clooney’s in the movie). Today is September 14, 2009, marking three
Grimmway Enterprises, Inc., a carrot producer in Bakersfield, California is suing a neighboring sheep farmer afer the sheep entered Grimmway’s property. The sheep grazed on Grimmway crops, but more importantly, they did what sheep do – they defecated. Out of resulting concern for possible E. coli O157:H7 contamination, Gimmway destroyed an alleged 75 acres of crops.
In
Most of the time when we’re writing about, reading about, or representing people for illnesses suffered in an E. coli O157:H7 outbreak related to produce, we’re looking at things retrospectively. An outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 happened, we know it was linked to lettuce, spinach, or some other type of fresh, raw produce, but we
In this last Sunday’s New York Times, there was a fascinating set of maps that showed the geographic location of organic farms across the United States. The article noted that organic vegetables now account fro five percent of all vegetables sales.
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This increase is interesting. But what I find much more interesting is that the
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The San Jose Mercury News reports that Californians shouldn’t be surprised that the federal Food and Drug Administration is essentially abdicating its responsibility to help ensure the safety of fresh produce, most of which is grown in the Central Valley.
In fact, it’s hard to decide which is the worst part about the new guidelines offered Monday by the FDA: That they took seven years to develop or that they are non-binding, meaning food processors can simply choose to ignore them.
Now it’s up to the state to maintain consumer confidence in the safety of its leafy green vegetables, like lettuce and spinach. Quality greens are important for consumer health and are a vital part of the state’s economy.
The state should complete its plans by summer to impose mandatory controls on growers. The food industry should work with the Legislature to guarantee that a set of enforceable standards is in place that will guarantee that every food handler in the business complies. Continue Reading Mandatory safety rules best for produce industry
SouthCoastToday.com reports that vegetables are nearly as dangerous as under-cooked meat when it comes to transmitting deadly food illnesses like E. coli, salmonella and hepatitis, according to a study of federal outbreak records by Scripps Howard News Service.
Fresh raw vegetables like lettuce, spinach, tomatoes and green onions were responsible for the illness or deaths
As the FDA investigates an outbreak of illnesses that may be related to Salmonella typhimurium bacteria in produce, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is reminding consumers of steps they can take to keep their food safe.
Salmonella can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with
A quick Q & A from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on the effectiveness of washing your fruits and vegetables to prevent food poisoning.
This is a Power Point (in pdf) about how the spinach E. coli outbreak is only part of a larger problem of safe produce.