FDA launches safety initiative targeting Virginia and Florida tomatoes
FDA launches safety initiative targeting Virginia and Florida tomatoes
WASHINGTON -- Starting next month, the Food & Drug Administration will partner with Virginia officials to investigate the cause of occasional food- safety problems during the tomato-growing season there, then turn to Florida fields in the fall as part of a federal tomato-safety initiative announced June 13.
"This initiative is part of a strategy to reduce foodborne illness by focusing food-safety assessments on specific products, practices and growing areas that have been found to be problematic in the past," Robert Brackett, director of FDA's Center for Food Safety & Applied Nutrition, said in announcing the Tomato Safety Initiative.
Modeled after the California Leafy Greens Initiative, FDA said it's a collaborative program with industry, state and university officials, who will help identify practices or conditions that potentially lead to product contamination. This information will allow FDA to improve its guidance and policy on tomato safety and help regulators evaluate the need for more research, education and outreach.
First, FDA will look at Virginia tomato farms and packing facilities to assess their food-safety practices and to what degree they implement Good Agricultural Practices and Good Manufacturing Practices.
Practices involving irrigation water, wells, procedures for mixing chemicals, drought and flooding events, and animal proximity to growing fields will be part of the farm and packing facility visits.
Later in the fall and winter, a similar effort will be conducted for Florida tomatoes at harvest and production time.
"It's a constructive effort to try to resolve the problem," said Reggie Brown of the Florida Tomato Exchange. The initiative will enhance the working relationship with FDA and state agencies to help resolve why the tomato industry has occasional contamination problems, and, hopefully, result in more federal research dollars, he said, adding that it is not an enforcement program.
It's no secret that tomatoes have been under greater scrutiny by FDA. In 2004, FDA sent a letter to the tomato and lettuce industries asking both produce sectors to review their safety guidelines in light of recent outbreaks. In response, the produce industry drafted new safety guidelines in 2006. The majority of the 12 outbreaks involving tomatoes and Salmonella have been traced to products from Florida and the eastern shore of Virginia. Outbreaks have also been traced to tomatoes from California, Georgia, Ohio and South Carolina.
This comes just weeks after Florida Agriculture & Consumer Services Commissioner Charles Bronson announced that his agency would be drafting new food-safety regulations governing all aspects of tomato production. The Florida tomato industry pushed for the new mandatory program, and the state's governor signed the bill in May.
"Florida is the nation's largest producer of fresh tomatoes, and our department and industry are committed to doing all that we can to make sure that our crop is the safest that it possibly can be," said Mr. Bronson.
The new rules will include new testing requirements for irrigation water, installation of portable toilets and hand-washing stations on farms and in packinghouses, and routine inspections of these facilities.
"Consumers, retailers and food establishments are understandably concerned over the safety of the food they eat or purchase, and this new program will put Florida in the forefront of what our citizens want and deserve," said Mr. Bronson. "I applaud Florida's tomato growers for stepping forward and requesting this regulation of their industry."
Mr. Brown said that the state's tomato industry is starting the statewide food- safety program, but it's only "our best guess." It would be nice to pinpoint the cause of these occasional food-safety problems and fix them, he said.
"This initiative is part of a strategy to reduce foodborne illness by focusing food-safety assessments on specific products, practices and growing areas that have been found to be problematic in the past," Robert Brackett, director of FDA's Center for Food Safety & Applied Nutrition, said in announcing the Tomato Safety Initiative.
Modeled after the California Leafy Greens Initiative, FDA said it's a collaborative program with industry, state and university officials, who will help identify practices or conditions that potentially lead to product contamination. This information will allow FDA to improve its guidance and policy on tomato safety and help regulators evaluate the need for more research, education and outreach.
First, FDA will look at Virginia tomato farms and packing facilities to assess their food-safety practices and to what degree they implement Good Agricultural Practices and Good Manufacturing Practices.
Practices involving irrigation water, wells, procedures for mixing chemicals, drought and flooding events, and animal proximity to growing fields will be part of the farm and packing facility visits.
Later in the fall and winter, a similar effort will be conducted for Florida tomatoes at harvest and production time.
"It's a constructive effort to try to resolve the problem," said Reggie Brown of the Florida Tomato Exchange. The initiative will enhance the working relationship with FDA and state agencies to help resolve why the tomato industry has occasional contamination problems, and, hopefully, result in more federal research dollars, he said, adding that it is not an enforcement program.
It's no secret that tomatoes have been under greater scrutiny by FDA. In 2004, FDA sent a letter to the tomato and lettuce industries asking both produce sectors to review their safety guidelines in light of recent outbreaks. In response, the produce industry drafted new safety guidelines in 2006. The majority of the 12 outbreaks involving tomatoes and Salmonella have been traced to products from Florida and the eastern shore of Virginia. Outbreaks have also been traced to tomatoes from California, Georgia, Ohio and South Carolina.
This comes just weeks after Florida Agriculture & Consumer Services Commissioner Charles Bronson announced that his agency would be drafting new food-safety regulations governing all aspects of tomato production. The Florida tomato industry pushed for the new mandatory program, and the state's governor signed the bill in May.
"Florida is the nation's largest producer of fresh tomatoes, and our department and industry are committed to doing all that we can to make sure that our crop is the safest that it possibly can be," said Mr. Bronson.
The new rules will include new testing requirements for irrigation water, installation of portable toilets and hand-washing stations on farms and in packinghouses, and routine inspections of these facilities.
"Consumers, retailers and food establishments are understandably concerned over the safety of the food they eat or purchase, and this new program will put Florida in the forefront of what our citizens want and deserve," said Mr. Bronson. "I applaud Florida's tomato growers for stepping forward and requesting this regulation of their industry."
Mr. Brown said that the state's tomato industry is starting the statewide food- safety program, but it's only "our best guess." It would be nice to pinpoint the cause of these occasional food-safety problems and fix them, he said.
