Outbound

Waiting for a U.S. Airways flight at Reagan National Airport, a few observations about the WPPC:

* I met Valerie of the Fresh Produce Industry Discussion Group at the WPPC. She reminded me of my earlier pledge to get our loyal FPIDG members a coffee mug, so I may be approach our art team for a Fresh Talk/FPIDG mug design. Failing that, we'll go for a simple Packer mug.
* both the embassy visits and the FDA field trip were valuable. I had a chance to attend both and each merits further exploration in this space. I've got the powerpoint from the visit to the Mexican embassy, which shares quite a bit of data and trade insight, along with a different world view than we are used to hearing.
* Speaking of the FDA visit, the general feeling the day after was that the Q and A with FDA officials was helpful but not ultimately satisfying for the industry. No vindication for tomatoes - not now and probably not ever. At today's lunch session, one retailer at my table said the triad of local/state health departments, the CDC and the FDA all trying to work in unison is an apparently impossible task. He said it seems to make sense to start with the clean sheet of paper and reorganize everything, with more authority flowing from the top down. Rosa DeLauro may have a backer in her plans for a total rebuild of federal food safety oversight....
* Another industry veteran said the FDA came to seek the counsel of the industry too late in the process during the salmonella investigation. Only after jalapenos became suspect did the FDA approach industry leaders about the implications of outbreak occurrences. Industry leaders then pointed FDA toward south Texas as an import source based on the pattern of reported illnesses. While FDA officials made a point to say during the Sept. 11 meeting that they are prohibited by law from sharing certain information with industry during an outbreak investigations - "None of us want to end our career as a felon" - clearly the agency needs to engage more fully with an industry SWAT team to help them decipher possible produce connections to foodborne illness outbreaks.