Food safety and the farm bill

Harkin has plans for meat and produce safety in the farm bill: From the office of Sen. Tom Harkin:

Harkin’s Farm Bill Includes Food Safety Commission That
Would Address Frozen Pizza, Tainted Meat Recalls

Chairman Ushers Bill to Senate Floor Next Week

Washington, D.C. – Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, today said that a Congressional Bipartisan Food Safety Commission included in the Senate farm bill currently scheduled for consideration on the Senate floor next week would address the food safety recalls announced over the past two days. A similar Commission was created in the 2002 farm bill, but was never constituted or allowed to meet.
“Recall after recall, from frozen pizzas, tainted meats, to massive spinach and lettuce recalls, are shaking the confidence of consumers in their food – and underscoring the need for comprehensive government action so that both our food supply and American families are protected,” said Harkin. “That’s just one of the many reasons the farm bill is named The Food and Energy Security Act. Part of this food security will be to initiate a full evaluation of our food supply and remedy this growing and problematic trend.”
On Thursday the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) Department of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that General Mills Operations of Wellston, Ohio voluntary recalled an undetermined amount of Totino’s and Jeno’s frozen meat pizzas because they may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7 and may be linked to an outbreak of E. coli illnesses. On Friday morning, FSIS announced another voluntary recall from Annex Foods of Portland, Oregon of approximately 4,374 pounds of various cooked beef and chicken products that may be adulterated due to inadequate verification and documentation of processing activities as required by the establishment’s Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) plan. The Food and Energy Security Act of 2007 mandates that members of The Congressional Bipartisan Food Safety Commission will be appointed 60 days after the enactment of this legislation. It will meet and conduct hearings to comprehensively review the food safety system of the United States. One year after its initial meeting, the Commission will publish a report on its findings. The report of the Commission will: summarize information about the food safety system; make recommendations to modernize the U.S. food safety system, and harmonize and update food safety statutes, among other recommendations; and draft specific statutory language to implement the recommendations of the Commission.

Retail Report - Nov. 2

From the USDA National Retail Report:
TK: If you wonder what happened to the traditional field tomato and the growers who cultivate it, note that the USDA retail report shows that 4,054 stores had tomatoes on the vine on ad as of the Nov. 2 report, compared with only 554 stores with the plain "tomato" on ad. Here is the summary from the USDA newly minted report, which reflects a lot of work. The effort will be valuable if it can be sustained.

Advertised Prices for Fruits & Vegetables at Major Retail Supermarket Outlets 11/02 to 11/081

Pears top overall activity. Vegetables featured more prominently. As Halloween fell on a Wednesday, only a portion of ads focused on the celebration as a main theme. Many retailers
were running “stock up and save”, “fill your freezer”, 10 for $10, 50% off, and “buy one get one free” sales this week. Front page space was often dominated by meat items. However, bagged apples and citrus items were noted quite often on front page space as well. Thanksgiving dinner incentive promotions continue to be featured nationwide. Overall, there were more vegetable ads than fruit ads. However, with the exception of tomatoes on the vine, the top commodities featured this week were fruits. These included: pears, avocados, apples, and grapes. Several fruit items saw little to no feature activity. Significant declines were noted on cantaloupes and strawberries. A few fruit items were more prominently featured, including: avocados, grapes, mangoes, and pineapples. Several varieties of apples and pears continued to be featured as seasonal availability spiked. Other seasonally available fruits were also featured widely.
These included: cranberries, persimmons, pomegranates, and tangerines. Cranberries were included in the data portion of this report as a seasonal item and accounted for roughly 6 percent of all fruit ads this week. Vegetable ads declined slightly overall this week. However, notable increases were seen on a few items. These included: potatoes, zucchini, and sweet potatoes. Several seasonally available items in addition to those in this report were widely featured and included artichokes, brussel sprouts, various greens (such as collards and kale), and garlic.