Health Law

Leafy Green Safety Generates Discussion

By Marler Clark LLP

The safety of our leafy green food supply - mainly lettuce and spinach - has received significant attention since the USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service published a request for comments regarding proposed national leafy greens handling regulations in October.  According to Michael Durando, branch chief of USDA's marketing order administrative branch, who was interviewed for an article in the Washington Post that was published yesterday, this request generated over 3,500 comments - considerably higher than the average 2-3 responses for an average issue or 100 or so comments for a "hot-button" issue. 

The Washington Post article, written by Bloomberg News reporter Cindy Skryzcki, is titled, "In a Pickle Over Self-Regulation for Produce Growers".  For the article, Ms. Skryzcki interviewed various stakeholders who will be impacted by decisions made regarding whether government or industry should regulate the growth and distribution of fresh produce.  Stakeholders include leafy greens marketing groups, farmers, and the USDA. 

Ms. Skryzcki wrote about differences of opinion in the comments that have thus far been submitted, which include viewpoints on whether all farms and processors should be required to follow the same standards and whether industry should be able to regulate itself with such agreements as marketing agreements instituted by California and Arizona leafy greens growers and handlers after the 2006 spinach E. coli outbreak instead of facing formal government regulation. 

From the article: 

The Western Growers Association said there should be no exemptions from uniform steps that growers and handlers should have to follow to certify the safety of lettuce, spinach, endive, kale, cabbage and other greens.

At a congressional hearing in May, Joseph Pezzini, an executive with Ocean Mist Farms in Castroville, Calif., and the chairman overseeing California's Leafy Green Handlers Marketing Agreement, said industry is best suited to define best practices for handling the covered vegetables.

The Consumers Union's Odabashian opposed the marketing-agreement plan in comments, saying the Agriculture Department idea isn't appropriate for addressing safety concerns. She said in an interview that the California agreement, which went into effect in July, didn't prevent two recent recalls.

While we all share the goal of reducing the incidence of foodborne illness outbreaks traced to contaminated produce, USDA faces a tough decision.

Full post as published by e.Coli Blog on December 12, 2007 (boomark / email).