Washington Conference looks at critical food safety issues

WASHINGTON D.C. - Traceability regulations, agricultural water rules and Cyclospora research were a few of the issues explored during a Sept. 21 food safety session at the United Fresh Produce Association’s Washington Conference.

Jennifer McEntire, senior vice president of food safety at United Fresh, served as moderator during the two-hour session. She also polled the audience on what they considered food safety priorities, alluding to the fact that United Fresh and the Produce Marketing Association will combine as in January.

“As we look toward January in the formation of a new association, I want to assure you that our activities here in Washington are based on our strengths and will only continue and amplify,” she said. “So, I, as the future chief food safety and regulatory officer, would love to get some input from you all on what you think our food safety, D.C.-centric priorities should be, in the short term, the next year or two years.”

Panelists at the food safety panel, who also gave their input on top food safety issues, included:

• Christian Lovell, legislative director with Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn.;
• Billy Mitchell, food safety training coordinator for the National Farmers Union;
• Cheryl Enlow, vice president of quality assurance and food safety for Calavo/Renaissance Food Group;
• Sarah Sorscher, deputy director of regulatory affairs at the Center for Science in the Public Interest;
• Mike Taylor, former Food and Drug Administration official and now serving on the board of Stop Foodborne Illness.

Issues

Enlow highlighted the need for the finalization and publication of the FDA’s agricultural water proposed new rule, which she said has been six years in the making.

Another key food safety issue, Enlow said, is the need for funding for research on the parasite Cyclospora.

“We know very little about Cyclospora, and now the FDA considers it a risk that we need to control,” she said. “And yet, we don’t know how to control it, especially at the point in its lifecycle where it needs to be controlled.”

Enlow also said there is a need for additional government money for research around other produce food safety issues and mitigation strategies.

“We need that (government) funding because private funding alone cannot take care of all the research needs that we have,” she said. Better and more timely communication from government officials around food safety investigations, root cause analysis and investigative reports also is needed, Enlow said. In addition, she said that the industry needs better communication, better design and better execution of FDA sampling assignments, noting that the sampling programs can unnecessarily waste good produce.

Additional industry needs, Enlow said, include additional guidance documents that would give the industry the information necessary for all companies to comply with FSMA rules. 

Sorscher echoed the importance of FDA publication of ag water rules. The proposed rule is at the Office of Management and Budget for final review.

“I think one of the things that the recent leafy greens outbreaks made very clear to us was that the current standard does need to have some revisions,” she said.

“There needs to be more attention to risk.”
In addition, Sorscher pointed out that no federal agency has oversight over animal agriculture. 

“I think one of the things that Congress can do is fill that gap and provide some ability to get into those animal farms and ensure that they’re following best practices and also, that we better understand the risks that are being created, and their impact on produce,” she said. 

Finally, Sorscher said that traceability is a huge concern. 

“We’re really aiming for that because we need to be able to know when there is an issue is limited to a certain set of produce,” she said, noting that consumer attitudes about consuming spinach fell markedly after the 2006 E. coli outbreak.

“We don’t want to see that happening again; it is hard enough to get people to eat a salad without having that as an additional layer (of complication),” she said.

Lovell with DeLauro’s office said Congress often doesn’t pay attention to specific food safety issues.

“Everybody wants the hot button political issue of the day,” he said. “But there’s so much more to government than just that.”

Lovell said DeLauro has a saying that Congress is an institution that responds to external pressure.

“Congress is generally better at responding to something than it is to laying out a preventative measure,” he said. While new legislative action on food safety is not likely, Lovell said that depends on events.

“If there’s a big leafy green outbreak tomorrow that impacts a lot of people and a lot of children, who knows what Congress will end up doing?”

Taylor focused his comments on leafy greens. While the industry and the Food Safety Modernization Act has made progress on putting in place regulations that enhance produce safety, Taylor said there are still “serious public health problem associated with the pathogens on produce. ”

About 60% of E. coli outbreaks in recent years have been attributed to fresh produce, twice the percentage as beef, he said.

Likewise, 40% of salmonella illness are attributed to fresh produce, twice the percentage attributed to poultry.

While recent outbreaks have been limited in scope, Taylor said another big outbreak is likely. More action, he said, is needed on “system-wide failures.” In particular, traceability is still lacking.

“It just astounds me that PTI -  the produce industry came up with a solution that would (solve) a big chunk of that problem, but for lack of will, across the whole sector, going down to the retailers, (PTI) didn’t succeed,” he said. “We know we have a statute that’s inadequate,” Taylor said,  citing Congressional limitations that constrains the capability to set standards that will ensure a  “modern, data-driven traceability system.”

Taylor also said there is a big need to better understand how cattle operations adjacent to produce fields can spread E. coli.

“What I think needs to happen, is some combination of industry leadership and government leadership that we just haven’t seen yet to pull this community together and to figure out what the solution is and how you pay for it,” Taylor said. For example, Taylor said more research is needed to see if an E. coli vaccine for cattle could be effective in reducing the risk for the spread of E. coli to produce fields.

Mitchell of the National Farmers Union said growers want clarity on agricultural water, the use of compost, and the FDA’s definition of a farm.

“We do need a (farm) definition so that people know what practical steps to take and certainly what paperwork is important.”