Fresh Produce Discussion Blog

Created by The Packer's National Editor Tom Karst

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

OSHA and worker safety

Worker safety and workplace enforcement - a topic we haven't heard much about in recent years. But will that fact change? Sliding across the inbox, this email from "Change to Win"

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Change to Win Health and Safety coordinator Eric Frumin issued the following statement in response to the devastating report released today by the Office of the Inspector General at the Department of Labor on the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) enforcement failures.

“Today’s report from the Department of Labor on OSHA’s enforcement failures is devastating news for America’s working men and women. As the findings show, dozens of workers died at employers who were previously inspected by OSHA in dangerous and severe situations. It is outrageous that these employers neglected to prevent their workers’ deaths or severe injuries at other locations. If anything can be worse, it is that OSHA, under the Bush Administration, failed to designate these employers for strict action under the Enhanced Enforcement Program that was supposed to prevent further fatalities and serious injuries.

“Given the Bush Administration’s longstanding record of failing to enforce laws related to workers’ rights or protections, we are not surprised by the Inspector General’s horrific findings. We know that President Obama and Secretary Solis share our dismay with this latest account of the Bush/Cheney/Chao years.

“However, nothing can hide the reprehensible behavior of the employers responsible for the abusive treatment of their own workers. The Inspector General’s report identifies huge corporations like Wal-Mart/Sam’s Club and Waste Management, Inc., which should have been designated for Enhanced Enforcement action. These companies –and others whose workers have died, like Cintas Corp. and McWane Corp. – must finally be held accountable for their coldhearted disregard of their workers’ safety and health. This can no longer be tolerated.

“We call upon Secretary Solis to take urgent action to close the loopholes in OSHA’s inspection programs, and mandate strict follow-up enforcement actions against employers where workers are killed or injured. We also call upon Congress to give OSHA the resources and authority it needs – including new criminal enforcement powers – to make sure that these employers comply with safety standards, and that these OSHA inspections happen before more workers die from employer negligence and government inaction.”

Another hearing on food safety

Yet another food safety hearing is scheduled for tomorrow, and this will feature representatives of DiMare, Pandol and SUPERVALU.. Here are the details from the House Agriculture Committee:



Full Committee on Agriculture

Hearing to review Federal food safety systems.

Thursday, April 2, 2009
10:00 a.m.
1300 Longworth House Office Building

WITNESS LIST

Panel I

Elsa A. Murano, Ph.D., President, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas

Michael Taylor, J.D., Research Professor, Department of Health Policy, George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services, Washington, D.C.

Ms. Carol L. Tucker-Foreman, Distinguished Fellow, The Food Policy Institute, Consumer Federation of America, Chevy Chase, Maryland

Panel II

John Hanlin, Ph.D., Vice President Food Safety, SUPERVALU INC., Eden Prairie, Minnesota

Accompanied by Mr. Mike Erlandson, Vice President Government Affairs,SUPERVALU INC., Eden Prairie, Minnesota

Panel III

Mr. Chandler Keys, III, Head of Government and Industry Relations, JBS, LLC., Washington, D.C.

Mr. David D. Dever, CEO and President, Pandol Brothers Incorporated, Delano, California

Mr. Tony DiMare, Vice President, DiMare Homestead, Inc., and DiMare Ruskin, Inc., Ruskin, Florida

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USA Today on Mexican trucks

Packer Managing Editor Fred Wilkinson here.

A USA Today editorial makes the case that the Obama administration's recent ruling barring Mexican trucks from the U.S. hurts consumers and business.

It succinctly sums up the remedy:

"It's time for the Obama administration and Congress to stop knuckling under to the Teamsters and drive a better bargain."

The administration has much bigger fires to put out and does itself (not mention U.S. exporters, workers and Mexican consumers) no favor creating a problem where none existed.

C'mon, Mr. President. It's not too late to put it in reverse and bypass unnecessary damage to trade and our relationship with Mexico.

Profitability in traceability and other headlines

Find the link here for a news release from Tracegains on profitability tied to traceability. There is a great push by traceability solutions companies to have their stories told, and perhaps an even more ardent wish that the industry would hear the opportunity for gain with the solutions. From the news release:

William R. Pape, co-founder of TraceGains, says, "A food company with an advanced traceability system means real-time alerts can be generated when something is wrong in the supply chain and that near real-time views of the operation make better operational decisions possible." He adds that in-house traceability systems cannot complete these tasks because a food company must automatically collect the relevant information from each process step, maintain identity across product transformations, and reroute these data into an event-oriented data mart, possibly adding some electronically collected new data. This event-oriented data mart then contains the pedigree of each carton leaving the plant as well as a repository of product attributes and key events during the life cycle of each production unit.

Contrary to popular belief, traceability is profitable, according to manufacturing journalist Thomas R. Cutler in the current issue of Food Quality magazine. The food safety industry has long viewed traceability as a strategy that enhances business and pays for itself in the process. While these are worthwhile objectives, rarely has traceability been linked to profitability
ty.

Acai comes with pronounced doubts Washington Post

There's some dispute as to whether acai juice has more antioxidants than the juice of other fruits; the Washington-based food industry watchdog group Center for Science in the Public Interest notes that acai is only a middling source of antioxidants, providing more than, say, apple juice, but less than pomegranate or Concord grape juice. Sambazon's Jeremy Black disputes that, saying tests finding more antioxidants in pomegranate juice pitted pure pomegranate juice against acai juice blends containing juice from fruits less rich in antioxidants.

Farmers want fair treatment in state agriculture budget Pennlive.com
When it comes to the state budget, Pennsylvania farmers aren't asking to be treated better than anyone else, representatives of one of the state's largest farm groups said Tuesday at the Capitol. But they don't want to treated worse either. Several members of the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau said it's not fair that Gov. Ed Rendell proposed cutting the state Agriculture Department budget 17 percent while cutting other departments 8.8 percent.Carl T. Shaffer, Pennsylvania Farm Bureau president, said farmers want approximately $7.7 million more in the 2009-10 state Agriculture Department budget.

Arizona pistachio growers brace for impact of salmonella Phoenix New Times

Arizona pistachio farmers are hoping the government soon lifts a blanket warning against eating the nuts, which was issued after a California batch tested positive for salmonella.So far, there's no indication the illness-causing bacteria infects any Arizona products, but the FDA wants people to avoid anything containing pistachios until further notice. In the meantime, the state's pistachio growers are waiting for the Food and Drug Administration to get more specific about the problem.

Bad policy to disallow soda purchase with food stamps Kennebec Journal

There is growing agreement in this country that our consumption of junk food and soda presents a national public health problem. It is increasingly clear that we must take steps to address this issue if we are to defeat obesity, diabetes and other chronic health problems. Why then do I oppose a pair of bills in the Maine Legislature (LD 752 and LD 753) that would ban using food stamps to purchase soda?

Colorado freeze kills up to third of Palisade peach crop Forrbes.com

Bruce Talbott, manager of Talbott Farms, says the total damage to orchards in the Palisade area could total $7 million.A freeze last week killed nearly all the apricots in the Palisade area.Talbott says this year's freeze damage is the worst he's seen since 1999. He says cherry orchards also suffered heavy losses, but apples and pears are still safe.

McDonald's responds to concerns about sustainable potato farming QSR

McDonald's says:

McDonald's has a long history of working with our suppliers to make our potato supply chain more sustainable, and we regularly engage in dialogue with them about their sustainability efforts, including those related to pesticides. We know that our U.S. potato suppliers are already working with their growers to advance sustainable pesticide practices, such as reductions and alternative methods. We agreed to conduct a survey in 2009 to more formally summarize those practices, and we will share the key findings from that survey with our global potato suppliers, as well as make them available on our Corporate Social Responsibility website. This process will further support the work McDonald's continues to do to advance our vision for a sustainable supply chain


Tesco's market share falls in UK WSJ

Aldi feels chill in UK but still winning Reuters

School lunch program needs a stimulus package bnd.com

Tens of billions of dollars in public money to Bank of America and Citigroup.About $170 billion in aid to AIG. And for public school students in Albuquerque, N.M., whose parents fall behind on paying their school lunch tab? A cold cheese sandwich. You hear a lot of talk these days about making sure children have access to healthy foods. But as a dietitian who works with school food service directors across the country, I can only hope the federal government will back such rhetoric with real resources.

House Ag Panel reviews obesity issues Wisconsin Ag connection

Congress budget battle looms MSNBC

Has Wal-Mart found better neighborhood markets SN

Wal-Mart's next conquest: Latin America Portada

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