Spinach town hall forum draws lively discussion
Spinach town hall forum draws lively discussion
SAN DIEGO -- Some five weeks after news hit of the E. coli 0157:H7 outbreak in spinach, the topic drew lively discussion at the Produce Marketing Association's Fresh Summit town hall workshop forum on a path to recovery.
The industry has suffered with spinach- and bagged salad-related losses tallying into the millions of dollars. Industry professionals in the Salinas Valley and surrounding areas have had first-hand opportunities in recent weeks to meet with local, state and federal officials on the matter. This PMA workshop once again afforded that opportunity, but it also allowed for industry professionals nationwide to hear from -- and address -- some of those officials.
PMA President Bryan Silbermann handled oversight of the important discussion that featured panelists Robert Brackett, director of the Center for Food Safety & Applied Nutrition at the U.S. Food & Drug Administration; Kevin Reilly, deputy director of the California Department of Health Services; Eric Stein, policy and legislative deputy secretary for the California Department of Food & Agriculture; Tom Nassif, president and chief executive officer of the Irvine, CA-based Western Growers Association; Thomas Stenzel, president and CEO of the United Fresh Produce Assocation; and Jim Bogart, president and general counsel of the Salinas, CA-based Grower-Shipper Association of Central California.
Dr. Brackett, who has a background as a food microbiologist, said that fresh produce is on the rise for foodborne illnesses. That reality runs contrary to FDA's position that with the rise in obesity and related health problems, the government would like to see the public eat healthier. But there's a dichotomy when at the same time there's "more foodborne illness of the kinds of food we'd like to see the public eat," he said.
Dr. Bracket said that everyone in the system has to have a "gut instinct awareness" of the problem. "Regulatory agencies do not make food safer -- you do that," he told the audience, adding that the FDA doesn't have mandatory recall authority.
Dr. Brackett said that there would be more international consequences such as Mexico's recent barring of U.S.-grown lettuce, an order that has since been lifted.
"We need to have the same standard internationally as we have domestically," he said, adding that there are "other outbreaks on the horizon."
Dr. Reilly said that the California Department of Health handles functions that are also in the realm of the FDA and Centers for Disease Control. "Within one week, we were on the ground," he said. "That's an unprecedented speed of response."
Dr. Reilly said that officials don't know how contamination got on spinach but they know that the industry isn't preventing all outbreaks. He said that with good agricultural practices, it's critical that "we get together to decide the metrics," meaning parameters.
Dr. Reilly said that during investigations, his and other agencies find people using cumbersome record-keeping efforts such as shoe boxes. "The better the record-keeping, the better we can take faster steps," he said.
"There's a standardized means of reducing risk -- there's a systematic way," Dr. Reilly continued. "It needs to be something simpler at the farm level."
Dr. Reilly said he believes that in the recent E. coli outbreak in spinach, Natural Selection Foods "went forward in a timely manner."
Mr. Stein of CDFA said that state government doesn't regulate agriculture use and that it's a local government issue. In the realm of spinach growers and processors recouping money from their losses, he said that in California, each county "has to declare a state of emergency. To do that, first you have to have a certain amount of dollar loss."
Mr. Nassif of the Western Growers Association said that he's very proud of the response from spinach growers, shippers and processors throughout the Salinas Valley and Monterey, San Benito and Santa Clara counties.
All regulators came out to explain what was happening for producers of leafy greens. Together, they came up with an action plan. "We know the potential causes [of E. coli 0157:H7] are water, workers and wildlife. For 121 years, we've been looking at the problem [of E. coli]," Mr. Nassif said.
Mr. Stenzel of United Fresh said that as a result of this outbreak, "None of us can live with business as usual." He added, "The first thing is to restore public confidence. We're selling fresh, ready-to-eat foods that you don't cook."
Mr. Stenzel said that FDA's advisory not to eat spinach came, in essence, after the outbreak was over. "By the time we started talking, the outbreak was over." He said he "looked in Bob Brackett's eyes and he was scared," adding that "when push came to shove," the FDA was not able to say that the food supply was safe.
"What we have at risk is the entire industry," Mr. Stenzel said. "This is a watershed moment for this industry."
Mr. Stenzel said that compliance has to be forced into the system. "It starts with buyers," he said. "Buyers will tell the growers what they expect, [the] processor tells the shipper and the shipper tells the grower."
Mr. Stenzel said that the E. coli outbreak "has blended into a fear of all product and a fear of a whole area."
Mr. Bogart said that the E. coli outbreak and follow-up "has been unprecedented in my personal experience and for the [Grower-Shipper] Association." The Grower-Shipper Association of Central California involves the industry in Monterey, San Benito, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties. All but Santa Cruz County have been implicated at various points in this E. coli episode. The FDA officially cleared Santa Clara County of involvement a few weeks ago.
Mr. Bogart said that the best decisions "are based on sound science." Pressure falls onto the growers from retailers, foodservice, shippers and processors, but he wants growers to be able to push up.
"We want to have the grower community feel like they're part of the process," Mr. Bogart said.
The industry has suffered with spinach- and bagged salad-related losses tallying into the millions of dollars. Industry professionals in the Salinas Valley and surrounding areas have had first-hand opportunities in recent weeks to meet with local, state and federal officials on the matter. This PMA workshop once again afforded that opportunity, but it also allowed for industry professionals nationwide to hear from -- and address -- some of those officials.
PMA President Bryan Silbermann handled oversight of the important discussion that featured panelists Robert Brackett, director of the Center for Food Safety & Applied Nutrition at the U.S. Food & Drug Administration; Kevin Reilly, deputy director of the California Department of Health Services; Eric Stein, policy and legislative deputy secretary for the California Department of Food & Agriculture; Tom Nassif, president and chief executive officer of the Irvine, CA-based Western Growers Association; Thomas Stenzel, president and CEO of the United Fresh Produce Assocation; and Jim Bogart, president and general counsel of the Salinas, CA-based Grower-Shipper Association of Central California.
Dr. Brackett, who has a background as a food microbiologist, said that fresh produce is on the rise for foodborne illnesses. That reality runs contrary to FDA's position that with the rise in obesity and related health problems, the government would like to see the public eat healthier. But there's a dichotomy when at the same time there's "more foodborne illness of the kinds of food we'd like to see the public eat," he said.
Dr. Bracket said that everyone in the system has to have a "gut instinct awareness" of the problem. "Regulatory agencies do not make food safer -- you do that," he told the audience, adding that the FDA doesn't have mandatory recall authority.
Dr. Brackett said that there would be more international consequences such as Mexico's recent barring of U.S.-grown lettuce, an order that has since been lifted.
"We need to have the same standard internationally as we have domestically," he said, adding that there are "other outbreaks on the horizon."
Dr. Reilly said that the California Department of Health handles functions that are also in the realm of the FDA and Centers for Disease Control. "Within one week, we were on the ground," he said. "That's an unprecedented speed of response."
Dr. Reilly said that officials don't know how contamination got on spinach but they know that the industry isn't preventing all outbreaks. He said that with good agricultural practices, it's critical that "we get together to decide the metrics," meaning parameters.
Dr. Reilly said that during investigations, his and other agencies find people using cumbersome record-keeping efforts such as shoe boxes. "The better the record-keeping, the better we can take faster steps," he said.
"There's a standardized means of reducing risk -- there's a systematic way," Dr. Reilly continued. "It needs to be something simpler at the farm level."
Dr. Reilly said he believes that in the recent E. coli outbreak in spinach, Natural Selection Foods "went forward in a timely manner."
Mr. Stein of CDFA said that state government doesn't regulate agriculture use and that it's a local government issue. In the realm of spinach growers and processors recouping money from their losses, he said that in California, each county "has to declare a state of emergency. To do that, first you have to have a certain amount of dollar loss."
Mr. Nassif of the Western Growers Association said that he's very proud of the response from spinach growers, shippers and processors throughout the Salinas Valley and Monterey, San Benito and Santa Clara counties.
All regulators came out to explain what was happening for producers of leafy greens. Together, they came up with an action plan. "We know the potential causes [of E. coli 0157:H7] are water, workers and wildlife. For 121 years, we've been looking at the problem [of E. coli]," Mr. Nassif said.
Mr. Stenzel of United Fresh said that as a result of this outbreak, "None of us can live with business as usual." He added, "The first thing is to restore public confidence. We're selling fresh, ready-to-eat foods that you don't cook."
Mr. Stenzel said that FDA's advisory not to eat spinach came, in essence, after the outbreak was over. "By the time we started talking, the outbreak was over." He said he "looked in Bob Brackett's eyes and he was scared," adding that "when push came to shove," the FDA was not able to say that the food supply was safe.
"What we have at risk is the entire industry," Mr. Stenzel said. "This is a watershed moment for this industry."
Mr. Stenzel said that compliance has to be forced into the system. "It starts with buyers," he said. "Buyers will tell the growers what they expect, [the] processor tells the shipper and the shipper tells the grower."
Mr. Stenzel said that the E. coli outbreak "has blended into a fear of all product and a fear of a whole area."
Mr. Bogart said that the E. coli outbreak and follow-up "has been unprecedented in my personal experience and for the [Grower-Shipper] Association." The Grower-Shipper Association of Central California involves the industry in Monterey, San Benito, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties. All but Santa Cruz County have been implicated at various points in this E. coli episode. The FDA officially cleared Santa Clara County of involvement a few weeks ago.
Mr. Bogart said that the best decisions "are based on sound science." Pressure falls onto the growers from retailers, foodservice, shippers and processors, but he wants growers to be able to push up.
"We want to have the grower community feel like they're part of the process," Mr. Bogart said.
