IN THE TRENCHES: Tomatoes were presumed guilty before proven innocent
IN THE TRENCHES: Tomatoes were presumed guilty before proven innocent
Before airplanes had sophisticated technical instruments and flight control systems, pilots flew planes literally by feel. Pilots felt their way through the sky by the plane's response to their actions at the controls. The largest point of contact between the pilot and the plane was in the feel through the seat of the pants. Thus, the phrase "flying by the seat of your pants" was originated.
And it was certainly fitting with the recent tomato fallout.
Since April, tomatoes have taken it on the chin with a fierce blow that knocked the category down without giving it a fighting chance. When the U.S. Food & Drug Administration recommended that consumers not eat raw red Roma, raw red plum and raw red round tomatoes, it literally blew away sales of the entire category. Even though a list of safe growing area sources was released, consumers were wary and still resisted tomatoes.
Between the opening and closing period of the Salmonella Saintpaul outbreak, a varied number of mixed instructions were put forth by the FDA. Everything from warning consumers to not eat certain varieties to contacting the stores where suspect tomatoes were purchased was in the works. The more these different messages were released, the more consumers backed off buying. Each message magnified the situation and held the tomato category hostage.
Brendan Comito, chief operating officer of Capital City Fruit in Norwalk, IA, said, "We were having a good year until June, but then were set back by the tomato crisis. The FDA advisory caused tomato consumption to decrease significantly. It was frustrating in many ways and harmed a lot of industry people. Not only was there a huge money loss, but it affected jobs as well. Good product was discarded. It shut down the entire tomato industry. There was no real proof that the problem was with tomatoes. There was a misrepresentation of the facts by the news media. At times, I wondered if we were really getting all of the facts. In Iowa, we not only had the tomato problem to deal with, but also a great flood dilemma. My only hope is that in going forward, we have a better program to deal with situations like this."
This nationwide calamity set off a disturbance among a number of industry growers, shippers and suppliers. Many felt it was unfair.
Joe Procacci, chief executive officer of Procacci Bros. Sales Corp. in Philadelphia, said, "Tomato sales still haven't recovered yet. Consumers are not buying them like normal. The industry got a bum rap, and it was very costly for everyone. It was a mistake from the beginning."
John Gates, vice president of Lancaster Foods Inc. in Jessup, MD, said, "As it turns out, tomatoes were very limited or not a problem at all. The information released was very sketchy. Much of what we received was old by the time it reached us. We needed better information and faster. A lot of people got hurt from this crisis. Hopefully, the country-of-origin program will be of some help as we move forward. This was a lesson to be learned."
Let's face it, the U.S. food-safety system is outmoded, broken and urgently needs to be updated. The system still operates under some laws written over 100 years ago dealing with matters that have been improved with new farming methods and technology. Farming has come a long way through the years. We need a new, modernized, government food-safety program that fits our produce-growing and retail industries. We need this change now.
Chris Grallert, an industry agricultural specialist in Tampa, remarked, "The noble profession of being a farmer has taken another direct hit to the bottom line. On top of exorbitant increases in input costs and no correlating increases in retail pricing, tomato growers in Florida are estimated to have lost over $100 million caused by the recent Salmonella outbreak that was initially thought to be tomatoes then thought not to be. Epidemiologists' use of the term correlation does not imply causation, which, in the trenches language means, we probably cannot prove and never will prove what caused it. Boy, is that the understatement of the year. The need to build a coherent and universal food-safety policy in the United States is more urgent and apparent than ever. If we don't do something, the most honorable profession will continue to pay for the mistakes of others."
On July 17, the FDA stated that it was safe for consumers to start eating all kinds of tomatoes again. Well, that is just fine and dandy, but what about the entire produce industry? What about the farmers? What about retailers? How does the industry make up the tremendous sales losses the tomato category incurred?
The majority of farmers, suppliers and retailers take food safety very seriously. They want to trust in a system that is not so flawed and worn out. They don't want someone yelling "fire" in a crowded room if someone lights a candle on a birthday cake.
I only hope that internal politics and job justification don't make every official with authority become paranoid whenever a food-safety situation surfaces. Yes, we need safety, but we also need professionalism along with it.
I know one thing: I love tomatoes and kept on eating all varieties throughout the entire debacle. That is how much faith I had in the system.
And it was certainly fitting with the recent tomato fallout.
Since April, tomatoes have taken it on the chin with a fierce blow that knocked the category down without giving it a fighting chance. When the U.S. Food & Drug Administration recommended that consumers not eat raw red Roma, raw red plum and raw red round tomatoes, it literally blew away sales of the entire category. Even though a list of safe growing area sources was released, consumers were wary and still resisted tomatoes.
Between the opening and closing period of the Salmonella Saintpaul outbreak, a varied number of mixed instructions were put forth by the FDA. Everything from warning consumers to not eat certain varieties to contacting the stores where suspect tomatoes were purchased was in the works. The more these different messages were released, the more consumers backed off buying. Each message magnified the situation and held the tomato category hostage.
Brendan Comito, chief operating officer of Capital City Fruit in Norwalk, IA, said, "We were having a good year until June, but then were set back by the tomato crisis. The FDA advisory caused tomato consumption to decrease significantly. It was frustrating in many ways and harmed a lot of industry people. Not only was there a huge money loss, but it affected jobs as well. Good product was discarded. It shut down the entire tomato industry. There was no real proof that the problem was with tomatoes. There was a misrepresentation of the facts by the news media. At times, I wondered if we were really getting all of the facts. In Iowa, we not only had the tomato problem to deal with, but also a great flood dilemma. My only hope is that in going forward, we have a better program to deal with situations like this."
This nationwide calamity set off a disturbance among a number of industry growers, shippers and suppliers. Many felt it was unfair.
Joe Procacci, chief executive officer of Procacci Bros. Sales Corp. in Philadelphia, said, "Tomato sales still haven't recovered yet. Consumers are not buying them like normal. The industry got a bum rap, and it was very costly for everyone. It was a mistake from the beginning."
John Gates, vice president of Lancaster Foods Inc. in Jessup, MD, said, "As it turns out, tomatoes were very limited or not a problem at all. The information released was very sketchy. Much of what we received was old by the time it reached us. We needed better information and faster. A lot of people got hurt from this crisis. Hopefully, the country-of-origin program will be of some help as we move forward. This was a lesson to be learned."
Let's face it, the U.S. food-safety system is outmoded, broken and urgently needs to be updated. The system still operates under some laws written over 100 years ago dealing with matters that have been improved with new farming methods and technology. Farming has come a long way through the years. We need a new, modernized, government food-safety program that fits our produce-growing and retail industries. We need this change now.
Chris Grallert, an industry agricultural specialist in Tampa, remarked, "The noble profession of being a farmer has taken another direct hit to the bottom line. On top of exorbitant increases in input costs and no correlating increases in retail pricing, tomato growers in Florida are estimated to have lost over $100 million caused by the recent Salmonella outbreak that was initially thought to be tomatoes then thought not to be. Epidemiologists' use of the term correlation does not imply causation, which, in the trenches language means, we probably cannot prove and never will prove what caused it. Boy, is that the understatement of the year. The need to build a coherent and universal food-safety policy in the United States is more urgent and apparent than ever. If we don't do something, the most honorable profession will continue to pay for the mistakes of others."
On July 17, the FDA stated that it was safe for consumers to start eating all kinds of tomatoes again. Well, that is just fine and dandy, but what about the entire produce industry? What about the farmers? What about retailers? How does the industry make up the tremendous sales losses the tomato category incurred?
The majority of farmers, suppliers and retailers take food safety very seriously. They want to trust in a system that is not so flawed and worn out. They don't want someone yelling "fire" in a crowded room if someone lights a candle on a birthday cake.
I only hope that internal politics and job justification don't make every official with authority become paranoid whenever a food-safety situation surfaces. Yes, we need safety, but we also need professionalism along with it.
I know one thing: I love tomatoes and kept on eating all varieties throughout the entire debacle. That is how much faith I had in the system.
