Harkin staffer says marketing orders not enough to assure food safety
Harkin staffer says marketing orders not enough to assure food safety
WASHINGTON -- Marketing orders are not the way to regulate food safety, according to a staffer for Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA), who is expected to introduce his food-safety bill for the produce industry later this month.
Adela Ramos, a senior staff member of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition & Forestry Committee, was one of the congressional aides who spoke on food- safety issues at the Sept. 13 Washington Public Policy Conference sponsored by the United Fresh Produce Association.
Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Harkin does not want marketing orders to take the place of food safety regulation, she said, but the leafy greens marketing order is a "good model," and the industry should be credited for moving fast on the issue. He does not want each state to have its own regulation for produce safety, she said.
Ms. Ramos spoke just days before Canada announced a recall of Dole's "Hearts Delight" bagged salad due to E. coli O157:H7 contamination. Sen. Harkin issued a press statement in response to the recall.
"Not only is this a concern for domestic producers and consumers, but now we're seeing American produce recalls have international implications," Sen. Harkin said Sept. 18. "It is long past time for Congress to act, and later this week, I intend to introduce legislation to restore confidence in American produce and the agency that regulates it."
The bill is not "a blanket regulation for all commodities," but it emphasizes a "risk-based, commodity-specific approach," Ms. Ramos said at the United Fresh meeting. Sen. Harkin's bill would make Good Agricultural Practices and Good Manufacturing Practices mandatory, which would take time to go through rulemaking, she said. The bill also would include a strong research component with added funding for food-safety research.
United Fresh's David Gombas, who moderated the session, said that United members should tell Congress during their Capitol Hill visits about the food- safety initiatives the industry has begun. Dr. Gombas, senior vice president of food safety and technology, told them to talk about the role of science and flexibility in crafting federal food-safety standards and the importance of federal funding for food-safety research.
"United Fresh deserves credit on two fronts," said Brian Ronholm, an aide to Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT). "You were out front first calling for federal standards on food safety. That message was well received," he said. Second, the group played a key role in the compromise language agreed to in the House on country-of-origin labeling.
On produce safety regulation, he said that Rep. DeLauro is "not interested in throwing a big blanket over all the commodities." She is taking a strong look at the draft produce bill, he said.
"There's a lot of momentum on food safety driven by recalls," said David Lazarus, legislative assistant to Sen. Richard Durbin. His boss is advocating sharp funding increases for the FDA's food-safety regulators and new legislation to provide better federal oversight of imported foods.
Retailers have indicated that consumer confidence in imported products is at a low point, Mr. Lazarus said. The latest string of recalls is an indication that there are gaps in the food-safety system, he added.
Adela Ramos, a senior staff member of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition & Forestry Committee, was one of the congressional aides who spoke on food- safety issues at the Sept. 13 Washington Public Policy Conference sponsored by the United Fresh Produce Association.
Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Harkin does not want marketing orders to take the place of food safety regulation, she said, but the leafy greens marketing order is a "good model," and the industry should be credited for moving fast on the issue. He does not want each state to have its own regulation for produce safety, she said.
Ms. Ramos spoke just days before Canada announced a recall of Dole's "Hearts Delight" bagged salad due to E. coli O157:H7 contamination. Sen. Harkin issued a press statement in response to the recall.
"Not only is this a concern for domestic producers and consumers, but now we're seeing American produce recalls have international implications," Sen. Harkin said Sept. 18. "It is long past time for Congress to act, and later this week, I intend to introduce legislation to restore confidence in American produce and the agency that regulates it."
The bill is not "a blanket regulation for all commodities," but it emphasizes a "risk-based, commodity-specific approach," Ms. Ramos said at the United Fresh meeting. Sen. Harkin's bill would make Good Agricultural Practices and Good Manufacturing Practices mandatory, which would take time to go through rulemaking, she said. The bill also would include a strong research component with added funding for food-safety research.
United Fresh's David Gombas, who moderated the session, said that United members should tell Congress during their Capitol Hill visits about the food- safety initiatives the industry has begun. Dr. Gombas, senior vice president of food safety and technology, told them to talk about the role of science and flexibility in crafting federal food-safety standards and the importance of federal funding for food-safety research.
"United Fresh deserves credit on two fronts," said Brian Ronholm, an aide to Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT). "You were out front first calling for federal standards on food safety. That message was well received," he said. Second, the group played a key role in the compromise language agreed to in the House on country-of-origin labeling.
On produce safety regulation, he said that Rep. DeLauro is "not interested in throwing a big blanket over all the commodities." She is taking a strong look at the draft produce bill, he said.
"There's a lot of momentum on food safety driven by recalls," said David Lazarus, legislative assistant to Sen. Richard Durbin. His boss is advocating sharp funding increases for the FDA's food-safety regulators and new legislation to provide better federal oversight of imported foods.
Retailers have indicated that consumer confidence in imported products is at a low point, Mr. Lazarus said. The latest string of recalls is an indication that there are gaps in the food-safety system, he added.
