FDA's new tomato safety initiative

The FDA has just announced the agency will begin a "multi-year Tomato Safety Initiative to reduce the incidence of tomato-related foodborne illness" in the U.S.

The Packer's Doug Ohlemeier will cover this story this week. Here is what the FDA said in the news release:

The initiative, part of FDA’s Produce Safety Action Plan, is a collaborative effort between FDA and state health and agriculture departments in Florida and Virginia. Several universities and members of the produce industry also are part of the effort. It will begin during this year’s growing season for Virginia in the summer and for Florida in the fall.

During the past decade, the consumption of fresh and fresh-cut tomatoes has been linked to 12 different outbreaks of foodborne illness in the United States. Those outbreaks include 1,840 confirmed cases of illness. The majority of these outbreaks have been traced to products from Florida and the eastern shore of Virginia; however, tomato-associated outbreaks also have been traced to tomatoes from California, Georgia, Ohio, and South Carolina. The effort will include identifying practices or conditions that potentially lead to product contamination, which will allow FDA to continue to improve its guidance and policy on tomato safety. The initiative will evaluate the need for additional produce safety research, education, and outreach.

TK: The release says FDA investigators in coordination with their respective state counterparts will "visit tomato farms and packing facilities in Florida and Virginia to assess food safety practices and use of Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) and Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs)." Another quote, "The visits will allow FDA and state officials to evaluate a "variety of environmental factors including irrigation water, wells, procedures for mixing chemicals, drought and flooding events, and animal proximity to growing fields." I'm curious about how the FDA will organize these visits. Must farmers agree to allow FDA/state inspectors on their farms? If not, are there any ground rules established?