Is it good enough?

Is the GAP/GHPs standard that will be adopted by the California leafy greens marketing agreement good enough to prevent another outbreak of E. coli linked to spinach or lettuce from California? Michael Doyle, director of the Center for Food Safety at the University of Georgia, isn't convinced.

I talked with him this afternoon and he argues that until produce marketers have a baseline of E. coli (and other pathogen) measurements of soil, water and product throughout the production system, it is not a science-based system.
"The goal is to develop baseline information, test the water, test the crops, and you find out where the E. coli 0157 is and how prevalent it is, then you can see what you have to deal with."

He said simply "pulling a number out of the air" and saying that a generic E. coli count is or isn't acceptable doesn't mean the standard is science based.

Doyle comes from a background with the meat industry where buyers sorted their preference for meat suppliers based the product's salmonella and E. coli levels.

"That's what we are going to have to do today," he said.

TK: Doyle worries that if there are more outbreaks related to E. coli on leafy greens or perhaps salmonella on other commodities, the FDA might be forced to protect their credibility by recommending that young children, the elderly and immune-compromised avoid some produce items. "I think the industry needs to get the message it is walking on eggs right now," Doyle told me.

Doyle is a voice in the wilderness, and he may be a prophet.