California: Growers set to tighten standards for leafy greens
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California: Growers set to tighten standards for leafy greens
California farmers are expected Friday to approve tighter standards for growing and processing leafy greens such as spinach, hoping to prevent another E. coli outbreak like one last fall that sickened almost 200 people nationwide and devastated the industry.
The new measures for the first time unite an industry that has been largely fragmented. Though voluntary, processors handling 99.5 percent of the fresh lettuce, spinach and other leafy greens susceptible to contamination have signed on to the program and will abide by its mandatory requirements, according to the state Department of Food and Agriculture.
Even critics commend the initiative for improving the safety of salads and fresh greens everywhere. But they caution that the measures don't go far enough. And they blast the federal government for taking a hands-off approach to the whole scare, saying the Food and Drug Administration is no closer than it was last fall to being able to prevent an E. coli outbreak.
"You had a very segmented industry before. Now you have one group responsible," said Rayne Thompson, director of international trade and plant health for the California Farm Bureau Federation, which represents 92,000 farmers, growers, ranchers, processors and other agricultural interests in the state and helped develop the new metrics.
The new regulations come as the state Senate on Wednesday approved three bills aimed at preventing future leafy green E. coli outbreaks despite strong opposition from agricultural industry groups.
The measures, which now go to the Assembly, would give the state recall authority for tainted produce, set safety standards for leafy green production, and create a new system to quickly trace contamination produce.
E. coli, or Escherichia coli, is a bacterium common in our guts and critical for normal digestion. But some strains, particularly those found in cow manure, are toxic and can cause widespread poisoning outbreaks when food or food processing equipment is contaminated.
Last fall such a pathogenic strain, E. coli O157:H7, contaminated bagged spinach. It came from a field in San Benito County, in Paicines. The FDA ultimately attributed to the outbreak 204 illnesses nationwide, including 104 hospitalizations and three deaths. (California recently put the number lower: 162 illnesses, with only 150 linked to bagged spinach.)
Many cases were linked to consumption of Dole-brand baby spinach packed under contract by Natural Selection Foods, a company doing business as Earthbound Farm.
The FDA found E. coli O157:H7 in environmental samples near the field, including river water, cow manure and wild pig feces a mile away. But the agency concluded that ``no definitive determination could be made regarding how E. coli O157:H7 pathogens contaminated spinach in this outbreak.''
Farmers who saw the market for fresh spinach disappear overnight last fall aren't taking any chances. The new standards address many aspects of growing and processing leafy greens destined for the table. Irrigation water must be tested. Buffer zones between fields and cattle must be in place.
While the program is voluntary, any processor agreeing to participate must follow the guidelines. Participating processors will buy only from growers that comply.
With almost all buyers participating, in other words, the new standard has the effect of regulation.
"It's a series of measures that are followed by very nearly the entire industry," Agriculture Department spokesman Steve Lyle said.
Critics say the industry has taken important steps but that more distance needs to be covered.
"If you look at the evidence, ... it's pretty clear the E. coli probably came from the cattle grazing right above that field," said Chuck Benbrook, chief scientist at the Boulder, Colo.-based Organic Center.
"To prevent it, the logical thing to do is ensure there's a greater physical separation between actively grazed range land and lettuce fields and spinach fields."
E. coli, he added, has been the source of numerous food poisoning outbreaks. "Cattle is the common denominator."
Thus, he said, buffer zones separating crops from grazed range should be based on topography, not set at 30 feet. The program's irrigated water test is based on a 1980's-era U.S. Environmental Protection Agency standard meant to ensure no more than eight people out of 1,000 swimming in E. coli-infected water will get sick and doesn't make sense for leafy greens. Controls on compost aren't strict enough.
"They've done a tremendous amount of work on it and they deserve some credit," Benbrook said of the growers. "What the consumer needs now is a more proactive role from the federal government that thus far really hasn't done much to help the industry in California deal with this problem."
The FDA did not return a call seeking comment Wednesday. Thompson, of the California Farm Bureau, said the FDA has been involved in the new standard's development and that farmers will be seeking the agency's approval.
But Benbrook noted that the farmers, not the federal government, are paying for the increased testing and oversight required under the new regime.
The feds have been largely absent throughout the crisis, he added.
"If there was a big drought in North Dakota, you'd be looking at $50 million, $100 million, flowing to farmers impacted by the drought," he said.
"This outbreak in California was a comparable national disaster, ... yet the (federal) government has done nothing.
"It's just another example of the gross imbalance of our farm policy," Benbrook said.
"If you grow wheat, corn, soy, the government is there no matter what the circumstances. But if you grow healthy food, you're on your own."
Many processors are already going far beyond the new standards. Natural Selection Foods has imposed a "double firewall" at its processing plant. Spinach arriving from the farm is tested and held until tests verify the crop is free of contamination. Bagged spinach is tested a second time before it leaves the plant.
The new industry standard, said company spokeswoman Samantha Cabaluna, "is a great first step."
"But we think more needs to be done."
Source: insidebayarea.com
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