Traceability: A lost industry initiative?

Has the salmonella outbreak linked to tomatoes torpedoed hopes of an industry-led solution to traceability? I don't know the political dynamics of produce safety legislation on Capitol Hill, but I perceive the reality of a government imposed solution is closer than ever after the turmoil associated with the salmonella outbreak.

Take, for example, the House Energy and Commerce Oversight Investigation subcommittee hearing today. A couple of themes were country of origin labeling and traceability. Importantly, committee vice chair Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., engaged FDA food safety official David Acheson repeatedly on the traceability issue. The net of the exchanges was that Acheson agreed that the salmonella outbreak has moved traceability to the front burner at the agency.

That gives me the sense that FDA might not be averse to a legislative, mandated solution.

DeGette, for her part has been getting press for her legislative push for traceability. The Denver Post writes about DeGette:

(DeGette) said that what is needed is a tracing system that would allow federal inspectors to almost instantly find where food produce was contaminated. She has proposed such a tracing system in her bill H.R. 3485, the TRACE ACT.

On its editorial page today, The Washington Post backed passage of DeGette's bill.

The Washington Post editorial said that nestled within the Food Safety Act of 2007, under consideration in the House, is DeGette's provision that would give the Agriculture Department and the FDA power to issue a mandatory recall of contaminated food.

"This is more than reasonable," said The Post editorial, "since the federal government can and did recall lead-tainted toys imported from China last year. Besides, the hammer of potential government action would be a powerful incentive for growers and packers to conform to safety standards."

Packer coverage from May 12 about the traceability steering committee:

David Gombas, senior vice president of food safety and technology for Washington, D.C.-based United Fresh, said the steering committee of the traceability initiative met Jan. 9, Feb. 22 and April 11 and is scheduled to meet again June 12. The initiative is sponsored by the Newark, Del.-based Produce Marketing Association, the Canadian Produce Marketing Association and United Fresh. Forty-one companies are participating, with nine foodservice operators/distributors, 13 retailers and 19 grower-shippers.

Gombas said the January meeting brought is consensus on four key points:

* the GS1 standard is to be used achieve whole chain traceability;

* a timeline is needed achieve whole chain traceability;

* a public declaration is needed by each company; and

* start at the case level, with strong provision to move to item level.

Gombas said the June 12 meeting will establish timelines for each milestone on the path of supply chain traceability. In comments after the session, Proctor said the steering committee might set a timetable for implementation in a range from 18 months to five years.

TK: I don't know if the steering committee's work was postponed by the salmonella outbreak, but the urgency for industry led action on traceability has never been greater. Without an ambitious timeline for industry adoption of "whole chain traceability," the government will mandate a solution. Whether that solution will make sense for the industry will be secondary to the urge by Congress to act. In fact, the events of the past month or so may have made the work of the steering committee only a footnote in what will be a government imposed solution.