Harkin produce safety bill news release

Here is the news release from Sen. Tom Harkin on his produce safety legislation. Here is audio comment from Harkin:

Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) today introduced legislation to establish an effective national food safety framework for all fresh produce. The bill comes one year after a large-scale outbreak of food-borne illness caused by a virulent strain of E. coli in fresh bagged spinach sickened more than 200 people and killed three. Since then, U.S. consumers have been bombarded with repeated cases of contaminated food – everything from peanut butter to seafood to pet food. Just this week, there was a recall of a Dole bagged salad product because of E. coli contamination.

“It seems these fresh-produce recalls have become the rule rather than the exception in the United States – and that is unacceptable,” said Harkin. “It is increasingly clear that the Food and Drug Administration lacks the resources – and the authority – to ensure the safety of the U.S. food supply. The American people need to have confidence that their fruits and vegetables are produced and handled in a safe and wholesome manner.”

The current produce oversight system is a patchwork of state and federal regulations. For example, California and Florida have different mechanisms for certifying the safety of leafy greens and tomatoes, respectively. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) also has its own mechanisms to ensure the safety of produce; however, an Associated Press report last week noted that establishments that grow and process leafy green produce are inspected only once every 3.9 years.

The Fresh Produce Safety Act of 2007 gives FDA the authority to make its current voluntary guidelines mandatory. The bill requires FDA to establish national standards tailored to specific commodities and the risk factors in the environments where each is grown. It also requires stepped-up inspections of operations that grow and process fresh produce, such as spinach or lettuce.

Other key provisions of the bill include a surveillance system to identify the sources of fresh produce contamination, and a research program to better identify, mitigate, and prevent contamination of produce. The bill would also require rulemaking to ensure that imported produce has been grown and processed with the same standards that we will have in the U.S.

“Eating fruits and vegetables promotes lower body weight, stronger bones, and lower risk of developing diet-related diseases such as diabetes,” Harkin continued. “In recent years, major efforts and investments have encouraged people to eat these healthful foods. It can only turn people away from healthy eating to have continuous instances of E. coli contamination and fresh produce recalls.”

The bill was introduced with Senator Herb Kohl as a cosponsor and also has the support of the Center for Science in the Public Interest.