Spinach featured at luncheon on Capitol Hill
Spinach featured at luncheon on Capitol Hill
Rep. Sam Farr (D-CA) and Rep. Wayne Gilchrest (R-MD) hosted a "Spinach Is Back" congressional luncheon Nov. 16 in Washington, DC, with a number of administration and public health officials to raise awareness that fresh, safe spinach has returned to store shelves and is an important part of a healthy diet.
Joining the congressmen at the event were U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns and his wife, Stephanie; Food & Drug Administration Director of the Center for Food Safety & Applied Nutrition Robert Brackett; ranking member of the House Agriculture Committee Rep. Collin Peterson (D-MN); House Agriculture Appropriation Subcommittee Chairman Henry Bonilla (R-TX); and ranking Agriculture Appropriation Subcommittee member Rosa DeLauro (D- CT).
More than 300 congressional leaders, staff and administration officials enjoyed fresh spinach salads topped with fresh mushrooms, eggs and assorted dressings.
According to his staff, Rep. Farr thought of the idea of a "Spinach Is Back" salad bar during one of his many recent trips to the Salinas Valley to meet with growers and processors in his district.
"Despite the fact that authorities agree it is safe to eat fresh spinach, there has been less fanfare associated with spinach's return to grocers' shelves than there was about its voluntary recall in September. We intend to change that," Mr. Farr said.
In remarks at the lunch, Mr. Johanns and Dr. Brackett spoke with reporters and guests to reaffirm that the E. coli scare was over and to emphasize the healthfulness of spinach. They enjoyed making their own gourmet spinach salads as a way to let consumers know there is no longer concern about consuming the popular leafy vegetable.
"We salute Congressman Farr for hosting this event, which is a real service to the public in getting out the word that spinach is safe and we should all be comfortable enjoying this healthy product," said United Fresh Produce Association Senior Vice President for Public Policy Robert Guenther. "Since the broad removal of all spinach from the marketplace in September, many consumers do not realize that FDA's investigation has confirmed that only one lot of spinach, produced on only one day in one processing plant, was actually contaminated. We're proud that our industry fully cooperated with FDA in being cautious, as hundreds of growers, processors and retailers pulled the entire spinach supply from the market within 24 hours. But it's reassuring to learn that only one lot of spinach from one day's production from one processing plant was hazardous."
"Yet since even a narrow incident such as this can have devastating health impact, our industry is also redoubling our efforts to ensure that every single grower and processor is following strict best agricultural practices and strict manufacturing and handling practices," said Jim Gorny, United Fresh senior vice president for food safety and technology. "We are also working together with growers, processors, distributors, retailers and foodservice companies to ensure that we examine every step in the total supply chain to further reduce and minimize what is already very low risk. We cannot ever forget the human impact of an outbreak such as this, and all of us involved in delivering fresh, ready-to-eat foods to consumers must embrace the importance of our own personal actions in reducing the risk of this happening again."
Joining the congressmen at the event were U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns and his wife, Stephanie; Food & Drug Administration Director of the Center for Food Safety & Applied Nutrition Robert Brackett; ranking member of the House Agriculture Committee Rep. Collin Peterson (D-MN); House Agriculture Appropriation Subcommittee Chairman Henry Bonilla (R-TX); and ranking Agriculture Appropriation Subcommittee member Rosa DeLauro (D- CT).
More than 300 congressional leaders, staff and administration officials enjoyed fresh spinach salads topped with fresh mushrooms, eggs and assorted dressings.
According to his staff, Rep. Farr thought of the idea of a "Spinach Is Back" salad bar during one of his many recent trips to the Salinas Valley to meet with growers and processors in his district.
"Despite the fact that authorities agree it is safe to eat fresh spinach, there has been less fanfare associated with spinach's return to grocers' shelves than there was about its voluntary recall in September. We intend to change that," Mr. Farr said.
In remarks at the lunch, Mr. Johanns and Dr. Brackett spoke with reporters and guests to reaffirm that the E. coli scare was over and to emphasize the healthfulness of spinach. They enjoyed making their own gourmet spinach salads as a way to let consumers know there is no longer concern about consuming the popular leafy vegetable.
"We salute Congressman Farr for hosting this event, which is a real service to the public in getting out the word that spinach is safe and we should all be comfortable enjoying this healthy product," said United Fresh Produce Association Senior Vice President for Public Policy Robert Guenther. "Since the broad removal of all spinach from the marketplace in September, many consumers do not realize that FDA's investigation has confirmed that only one lot of spinach, produced on only one day in one processing plant, was actually contaminated. We're proud that our industry fully cooperated with FDA in being cautious, as hundreds of growers, processors and retailers pulled the entire spinach supply from the market within 24 hours. But it's reassuring to learn that only one lot of spinach from one day's production from one processing plant was hazardous."
"Yet since even a narrow incident such as this can have devastating health impact, our industry is also redoubling our efforts to ensure that every single grower and processor is following strict best agricultural practices and strict manufacturing and handling practices," said Jim Gorny, United Fresh senior vice president for food safety and technology. "We are also working together with growers, processors, distributors, retailers and foodservice companies to ensure that we examine every step in the total supply chain to further reduce and minimize what is already very low risk. We cannot ever forget the human impact of an outbreak such as this, and all of us involved in delivering fresh, ready-to-eat foods to consumers must embrace the importance of our own personal actions in reducing the risk of this happening again."
