Certified Onions Inc. adds testing by Idaho Food Safety Assurance Lab
Certified Onions Inc. adds testing by Idaho Food Safety Assurance Lab
Finding a need and filling it is one of the hallmarks of American agriculture, and in June 2009 several onion shippers from the Treasure Valley of Idaho-Easter Oregon did just that when they formed Certified Onions Inc.
In the six years since, Nyssa, OR-based COI has not only provided testing for pesticide residue and, more recently, for pathogens, but it has also received recognition from the onion industry and other entities for doing so.
Each of COI’s members undergoes voluntary sampling for off-label pesticide use and for maximum residue levels. In 2010 the Oregon Department of Agriculture presented COI with the “Excellence in Marketing” award, praising the non-profit organization for its commitment to food safety.
According to COI President Kay Riley, who is also general manager of Snake River Produce in Nyssa, the service’s membership has expanded to include more than two dozen shippers, and this year the samplings will be done by the Oregon Department of Agriculture as well as the Idaho Food Safety Assurance Lab.
Riley said more microbial testing is being conducted, adding that at the outset COI’s focus was on pesticide residue only. Now the samples are examined for E coli 157 and salmonella, which he said one specific customer of Treasure Valley onions has required of shippers. No microbial contamination has ever turned up in dried storage onions, Riley said, but he added, “We continue to test.”
As the 2015-16 IEOO onion season hits full stride, the industry is awaiting a final rule on the Food Safety Modernization Act, or FSMA. Dry storage onions have been classified with leafy greens, with food safety protocol for the greens also applying to the storage onions. Riley said the most recently proposed rule “would work for us,” separating onions from leafy greens.
