FDA and produce industry learning lessons from tomato crisis
FDA and produce industry learning lessons from tomato crisis
WASHINGTON -- The Salmonella outbreak associated with fresh tomatoes is likely to cost the food industry more than the 2006 spinach recall, but this time the Food & Drug Administration is working with the produce industry to lessen the financial blow while it untangles the paperwork that will ultimately point to the source of the more 160 illnesses.
On May 30, FDA got involved in the multi-state outbreak and a day later linked the outbreak to fresh tomatoes. At least 167 people in 17 states have become infected from Salmonella saintpaul, which has resulted in 23 people being hospitalized and possibly one death, which is under investigation, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention.
"We're getting very close" to identifying the source of the outbreak, FDA Associate Commissioner for Foods David Acheson said June 11 during a conference call. "Tomatoes don't show up with a barcode."
Because it is not yet known where the tainted tomatoes came from, FDA has not sent investigators to a specific growing region yet, said Dr. Acheson. But FDA has stepped up sampling of both domestic and imported tomatoes as a result of the latest outbreak.
For the first time in an outbreak investigation, FDA agreed to clear regions of a state - 19 counties in Florida - and allowed tomatoes grown in those counties and harvested after May 1 to be shipped with a special certificate to buyers.
Before the Florida counties were posted on FDA's all-clear list, Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services Commissioner Charles Bronson announced June 10 that all Florida-grown tomatoes were deemed safe, throwing the tomato market into a tailspin.
"We were flooded with [member] calls because of inaccurate reports," Kathy Means, vice president of government relations for the Produce Marketing Association, told The Produce News, adding that such mishaps can affect retailers who may be holding Florida tomatoes and believe they are safe to release into the market.
"Florida is a bit of a mixed bag," Dr. Acheson said during the press teleconference.
The Florida areas that were producing tomatoes at a time that might have caused the illnesses are still under investigation, he said.
Dr. Acheson acknowledged that some state agriculture commissioners are frustrated by the pace of FDA's traceback investigation and have been complaining about FDA's process for deciding which states are added to the safe-to-eat list.
At press time, the produce industry was working with FDA to convince the agency to release shipments from some tomato-growing regions in Mexico. "Unfortunately, we're just waiting," said Allison Moore of the Fresh Produce Association of the Americas, based in Nogales, AZ, who added that certain Baja states were not in production during the suspect time, so they should be cleared.
"It's difficult to know what to do with existing inventories," said Ms. Moore. "For us, there should be equal treatment for Mexican states and U.S. states," which have qualified for the shipping exemption.
Some companies may be selling tomatoes with Salmonella-free certificates from outside the safety list.
"We are not standing behind those," said Dr. Acheson.
He said that it was a business decision to accept those shipments, but he pointed to FDA's list of those areas that were not harvesting at the time of the beginning of the outbreak or which shipped such small volumes as not to cause a nationwide outbreak.
Once the dust settles, the produce industry will need to find out not only what caused the contamination but also why it took so long to trace the culprit.
"We are urging everyone to use modern food-safety and traceback systems," said Ms. Means of PMA, who added that tomatoes go through repacking and are graded and sorted, which can make traceback more difficult.
"We will be talking to FDA and see what industry can do" to improve traceback once this situation is over, she said.
Another issue that produce trade associations will be helping businesses sort out is who pays for the discarded tomatoes.
Without an official recall, companies cannot turn to their insurance policies for coverage, she said.
While the produce industry suffers through another costly food-safety crisis, Congress is closely watching FDA's handling of the outbreak.
Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), chairman of the powerful House Appropriations Subcommittee, complained that FDA is more preoccupied with protecting industry and not consumers.
Rep. John Dingell (D-MI) said that he plans to ask FDA questions about its handling of the tomato outbreak at a June 12 congressional hearing. A consumer representative also pointed the finger at FDA for the latest outbreak.
"Since 2006, CSPI has been urging FDA to require all farms that feed the American public to have written food-safety plans, but the FDA has not done that," said the Center for Science in the Public Interest's staff attorney, Sarah Klein.
"The result is yet another produce outbreak sickening consumers and dealing another setback to another important industry, which includes many growers who have implemented food-safety measures."
On May 30, FDA got involved in the multi-state outbreak and a day later linked the outbreak to fresh tomatoes. At least 167 people in 17 states have become infected from Salmonella saintpaul, which has resulted in 23 people being hospitalized and possibly one death, which is under investigation, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention.
"We're getting very close" to identifying the source of the outbreak, FDA Associate Commissioner for Foods David Acheson said June 11 during a conference call. "Tomatoes don't show up with a barcode."
Because it is not yet known where the tainted tomatoes came from, FDA has not sent investigators to a specific growing region yet, said Dr. Acheson. But FDA has stepped up sampling of both domestic and imported tomatoes as a result of the latest outbreak.
For the first time in an outbreak investigation, FDA agreed to clear regions of a state - 19 counties in Florida - and allowed tomatoes grown in those counties and harvested after May 1 to be shipped with a special certificate to buyers.
Before the Florida counties were posted on FDA's all-clear list, Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services Commissioner Charles Bronson announced June 10 that all Florida-grown tomatoes were deemed safe, throwing the tomato market into a tailspin.
"We were flooded with [member] calls because of inaccurate reports," Kathy Means, vice president of government relations for the Produce Marketing Association, told The Produce News, adding that such mishaps can affect retailers who may be holding Florida tomatoes and believe they are safe to release into the market.
"Florida is a bit of a mixed bag," Dr. Acheson said during the press teleconference.
The Florida areas that were producing tomatoes at a time that might have caused the illnesses are still under investigation, he said.
Dr. Acheson acknowledged that some state agriculture commissioners are frustrated by the pace of FDA's traceback investigation and have been complaining about FDA's process for deciding which states are added to the safe-to-eat list.
At press time, the produce industry was working with FDA to convince the agency to release shipments from some tomato-growing regions in Mexico. "Unfortunately, we're just waiting," said Allison Moore of the Fresh Produce Association of the Americas, based in Nogales, AZ, who added that certain Baja states were not in production during the suspect time, so they should be cleared.
"It's difficult to know what to do with existing inventories," said Ms. Moore. "For us, there should be equal treatment for Mexican states and U.S. states," which have qualified for the shipping exemption.
Some companies may be selling tomatoes with Salmonella-free certificates from outside the safety list.
"We are not standing behind those," said Dr. Acheson.
He said that it was a business decision to accept those shipments, but he pointed to FDA's list of those areas that were not harvesting at the time of the beginning of the outbreak or which shipped such small volumes as not to cause a nationwide outbreak.
Once the dust settles, the produce industry will need to find out not only what caused the contamination but also why it took so long to trace the culprit.
"We are urging everyone to use modern food-safety and traceback systems," said Ms. Means of PMA, who added that tomatoes go through repacking and are graded and sorted, which can make traceback more difficult.
"We will be talking to FDA and see what industry can do" to improve traceback once this situation is over, she said.
Another issue that produce trade associations will be helping businesses sort out is who pays for the discarded tomatoes.
Without an official recall, companies cannot turn to their insurance policies for coverage, she said.
While the produce industry suffers through another costly food-safety crisis, Congress is closely watching FDA's handling of the outbreak.
Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), chairman of the powerful House Appropriations Subcommittee, complained that FDA is more preoccupied with protecting industry and not consumers.
Rep. John Dingell (D-MI) said that he plans to ask FDA questions about its handling of the tomato outbreak at a June 12 congressional hearing. A consumer representative also pointed the finger at FDA for the latest outbreak.
"Since 2006, CSPI has been urging FDA to require all farms that feed the American public to have written food-safety plans, but the FDA has not done that," said the Center for Science in the Public Interest's staff attorney, Sarah Klein.
"The result is yet another produce outbreak sickening consumers and dealing another setback to another important industry, which includes many growers who have implemented food-safety measures."
