Long train coming

What train will arrive in the station first? Will it be Congressional legislation on produce safety or the industry's own work to establish a national leafy greens marketing agreement or marketing order? It may be a question of which glacier is fastest, though I would have to give the nod at this point to a USDA marketing agreement/order for leafy greens.

Western Growers wants authorizing language added to the farm bill revised so that handlers can vote on a marketing order. Currently, the law allows only growers to vote on a marketing order. There is nothing stopping leafy green growers voting for a marketing order, but WG wants the handlers involved and voting on a federal marketing order.

Whether or not WG can score an amendment to change the law is in question, as Sen. Dianne Feinstein of Calif. is apparently lobbying Sen. Tom Harkin to include that provision in the farm bill.

In any case, California and Arizona account for perhaps four-fifths of the nation's leafy green output, but only two-thirds of the volume, or two thirds of the number of growers, is needed to approve a marketing order. It would seem a lead pipe cinch that a vote would be "yes" for a marketing order, whether voted on by leafy greens handlers or growers.

One key advantage of a national marketing order approach is that would avoid the "crazy quilt" approach of state-based and regional regulation on food safety. All leafy green growers in the U.S. - and to some uncertain degree, those overseas who supply the U.S. market - would be subject to a marketing order.

There are many questions to consider, however.

1. Would the work and toil that goes into the effort to establish a national order or agreement be wasted if Congress creates new requirements that will be enforced by the FDA separately from a marketing order?

2. How expensive will this approach be?

3. Only USDA inspectors, or federal-state inspectors, will be allowed to conduct audits. Is that inspection force well-trained for the job of looking at food safety issues? Should third party inspections be part of the program?

4. Does the marketing order model get beyond the broad brush stigma of self-regulation painted by critics?

5. How would the efforts of the marketing agreement/order be communicated to consumers? How damaging would it be if a consumer package had the badge or seal of USDA appproval but was later found to have pathogens?

6. What will be the FDA's reaction to the USDA assuming some oversight of produce safety, even if USDA insists it is not usurping FDA authority?