Spinach and food safety headlines 8/31

As the voluntary recall of spinach grabs the headlines, less press seems to be directed at the recent actual E. coli outbreak linked to meat in the Northwest. Is the press more keenly tuned to produce safety than the safety of beef? Is there a tacit acceptance of periodic outbreaks of E. coli linked to meat as opposed to incidents and recalls tied to produce? One thing is certain, spinach and food safety are in the news cycle and it will be darn hard to get them out. By the way, thanks to the Food Safety Network at K-State for these links.

Dole Food takes new steps to head off more E.coli From Reuters;
Dole Food Company, a top U.S. food and fruit producer, has stepped up testing and tracking of produce to prevent outbreaks of E.coli like the one that sickened hundreds last fall, the firm said on Thursday.
Eric Schwartz, Dole's president for worldwide vegetables, told Reuters in an interview the company is testing samples from every acre of spinach and other vegetables that will be marketed under the Dole label. If a harmful bacterium or other problem is detected, plants from that area will not enter the processing chain.

INTERAGENCY WORKING GROUP ON IMPORT SAFETY TO HOLD PUBLIC MEETING From USDA:
The Interagency Working Group on Import Safety is announcing a public meeting to explore actions that public and private stakeholders can take to promote the safety of products imported into the United States.
The public meeting will be held from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 1, 2007, in the Jefferson Auditorium, South Building, U.S. Department of AgrFRiculture, 1400 Independence Ave., SW., Washington, D.C. 20250.

Spinach Recall Sparks Oversight Calls From the AP
Consumer advocates and some lawmakers say that a Salinas Valley company's recall of spinach because of a salmonella scare shows that the federal government must do more to protect the nation's food supply, but industry officials call it proof that their voluntary regulations are working.
Metz Fresh, a King City-based grower and shipper, recalled 8,000 cartons of fresh spinach Wednesday after salmonella was found during a routine test of spinach it was processing for shipment. More than 90 percent of the possibly contaminated cartons never reached stores, company spokesman Greg Larson said.


Alberta farmers' market produce under scrutiny From CBC
In an unusual move, Alberta health inspectors are buying fruits and vegetables at farmers' markets in the Calgary and Edmonton areas to test its safety.
The produce will be examined for parasites and bacteria that cause diseases such as E. coli and salmonella, says Sandra Honour, who is with the food safety division of the Agriculture Department.
"There is not common testing done on Canadian-produced food, by the province, to be able to feed back directly to producers on how good they are and how they could improve their practices," Honour told CBC News.
"This is designed to both give us a baseline so that we can let consumers know how safe Alberta-produced food is as well as the producers can have information as to which practices provide them the best opportunity to ensure their product is safe."