All clear or not

I checked in today with William Hallman, lead researcher of the New Brunswick, N.J.-based Rutgers Food Policy Institute, of spinach research notoriety. You can check out this for the conclusion of the Rutgers study, posted earlier on my blog. Other posts about the study can be found with the blog search function.

In an interview for a story about fresh cut processing, I asked Hallman if consumers are frustrated the FDA has not nailed down what happened with the E. coli and spinach.
"I think it was more frustrating during the event," he said. "They expect food to be safe, they expect the government is doing a good job of assuring safety and the fact that weeks went by (without clear answers) was both surprising and frustrating," he said.

Now, he doubts that most consumers are at the edge of their seats to find out more details. "What consumers are interested in is that someone has solved what the problem was," he said. But some consumers may still be waiting, he said. The fact that there was really no all clear signal that involved information of how the E. coli got on the spinach is likely troubling some consumers, he said. "The all clear signal was less than all clear," he said.


TK: Hallman noted that because the FDA has not been able to pinpoint the farm or specific way the pathogen got on the product, it suggests to consumers the problem is large. Hallman has some keen observations about consumer behavior, including the basic question asked by many; "Why can't something be done about this?" The industry is moving fast to do something, but Hallman correctly notes that the E. coli tainted spinach will be a point of reference by the media for every E. coli outbreak that occurs in the near future.