International Specialty Supply
Supplying Sprout Companies Throughout the World
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International Specialty Supply Supplying Sprout Companies Throughout the World
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820 East 20th Street Cookeville, TN 38501 USA 931 526 1106
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Grocers Demand Produce Inspections WASHINGTON
-- UP.SO. supermarkets and restaurants spooked by food poisonings linked to
fruits and vegetables are, according to this story, making suppliers hire
inspectors to check farms and packing operations. The
story says that produce is responsible for an estimated 10 percent of all
outbreaks of foodborne illnesses, yet the government has no mandatory rules for
the safe growing and packing of fruits and vegetables -- only voluntary
guidelines. An
inspection in Washington State caused a farmer to move a lettuce field away from
a septic system that sometimes overflowed. In other places, tests of irrigation
water are turning up microbial contamination, a major cause of poisoned produce.
In Mexico, packing sheds have been enclosed to protect produce from
contamination. The
story says that trade groups representing produce suppliers, supermarkets and
restaurants have agreed on inspection guidelines that are to be released later
this month. Grocery
giants Albertson's and Safeway were the first major supermarket chains to ask
for the audits, and Publics, a large Southeast chain, recently followed.
Wall-Mart, A&UP and Kroger, the nation's largest grocer, are considering
similar programs, industry officials say. Francisco
Oregon, a packer who sells Mexican-grown tomatoes, peppers and other produce to
UP.SO. stores was quoted as saying the inspectors serve as "the police of
our operations, which is good." Eric
Engbeck, director of agricultural certification programs for Scientific
Certification Systems, an Oakland, Calif., auditing firm, was quoted as saying,
"The industry doesn't want the government to come in and lay out
regulations. If they can voluntarily solve the problem and reduce the risk, they
can possibly get rid of the reason for the government coming in." Consumer
advocates were cited as saying the inspections are no substitute for government
regulation, and inspectors themselves say there is no guarantee that produce
suppliers will fix the problems found in the audits. Caroline
Smith DeWaal, food-safety director for the Center for Science in the Public
Interest, an advocacy group, was quoted as saying auditing is "a good step,
but it's voluntary, so it doesn't guarantee that a consumer knows the safety or
quality of the produce." The
story says that over the past decade, 82 food-poisoning outbreaks have been
linked to tainted sprouts, lettuce and other produce, almost as many as beef,
according to data compiled by CSPI. In
late May, the Food and Drug Administration warned that salmonella-contaminated
cantaloupes from Mexico had been linked to two deaths and numerous illnesses in
14 states from Massachusetts to California. Other
scares have included hepatitis-contaminated strawberries and bacteria-poisoned
sprouts and raspberries. Linda
Harris, a food-safety expert at the University of California-Davis, was quoted
as saying, "What the audits are doing is increasing the awareness and
basically providing a more systematic way of going through the farm and asking:
Are you controlling your workers? Are you controlling your water? Are you
controlling your applications of fertilizer, especially organic
fertilizer?" The
story says that the new standards that produce suppliers have worked out with
the supermarket and restaurant industries will follow the voluntary guidelines
released by FDA in 1998. Among
the FDA recommendations: treat manure to kill bacteria before it's used as
fertilizer; keep contaminated irrigation water away from produce; train workers
to wash their hands properly and make sure they have access to toilets; keep
packing facilities clean and free of pests. Albertson's
and Safeway notified their produce suppliers in 1999 that they wanted the
inspections done. Safeway,
the nation's 3rd-largest grocer according to the trade magazine Supermarket
Business, has been phasing in its auditing requirement on a
commodity-by-commodity basis, starting with lettuce. Suppliers are allowed to
pick from three auditing firms that Safeway has approved. Safeway spokeswoman
Debra Lambert was quoted as saying, "Our ultimate goal is to assure the
safest product available." |