Harkin: FDA oversight does not work

From the office of Sen. Tom Harkin:

Reacting to the news that yet another Peanut Corporation of America plant was closed after Salmonella was detected at the facility, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) today said that FDA oversight of state inspections of food processing facilities does not work. Previous media reports have shown that this plant may have gone four years without a food safety inspection, a fact confirmed by FDA officials last week. The Salmonella outbreak has killed eight and sickened 600 nationwide, including three in Harkin’s home state of Iowa.

“Hundreds of people sickened and in the worst cases, lives lost – all because of a food-borne illness. We’ve been here before, and we cannot afford to be here again,” said Harkin. “This inspection systems does not work. Our committee heard firsthand of the lapses last week and now we are seeing the results of food processing facilities that go uninspected.”

At a hearing before the Senate Agriculture Committee last week, which Harkin chairs, FDA officials testified that the Peanut Corporation of America’s own testing found 12 incidents of Salmonella at the plant since 2007. Under law, the company does not have to report these findings to the FDA and despite these warnings, the last time federal inspectors were sent to the plant, prior to the recent Salmonella outbreak, was in 2001.

Following the hearing, Harkin called for FDA to release to Congress records detailing the inspection report from the Georgia state Department of Agriculture to conduct food safety inspections of the Peanut Corporation of America plant. The FDA has yet to submit the documents. Today, Harkin sent a letter to the agency pressing them for the documentation.

“Before another American gets sick, before another child eats a peanut product that may be contaminated, Congress must get to the heart of this matter,” he concluded. “I urge the FDA to release the records on state contracts immediately.”

The full text of the letter follows.

February 11, 2009

Dr. Stephen Sundlof

Director, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition

Food and Drug Administration

10903 New Hampshire Avenue

Silver Spring, MD 20903

Dear Dr. Sundlof:

The record of the hearing of this Committee on Thursday, February 5, 2009, including your testimony at that hearing, shows that prior to the recent Salmonella outbreak, FDA last inspected the Blakely, GA Peanut Corporation of America plant in 2001. FDA contracted with the state of Georgia to inspect the plant in 2006. During the time period from 2001 to 2006, the plant was not inspected by FDA but was inspected by Georgia state authorities, but not under direction of or under contract with FDA. In 2007 and 2008 shipments that PCA testing showed positive for Salmonella left the plant and made their way into the food supply. When the FDA inspected the plant in January 2009, several violations of processing plant cleanliness standards were discovered. According to FDA records, was this the condition of the plant during the time that the FDA contracted with the state of Georgia for inspections?

During the hearing, I requested from FDA copies of relevant records and documents involving inspections by Georgia state authorities. Please provide documents covering the period from FDA’s last inspection in 2001 forward and which include all reports or communications involving inspections of the plant by Georgia state authorities, including dates and the number of inspections, all communications and reports regarding such inspections that are in the possession of FDA, and PCA internal laboratory test results. For each document, please specify when the FDA received these documents. What findings did the reports to the FDA concerning the inspections contain and were more corrective actions prescribed by the FDA?

Additionally, I request the inspection report from 2009 for PCA’s plant in Plainview, TX and laboratory test results resulting from this inspection. What findings did the reports to the

FDA concerning the inspections contain and were more corrective actions prescribed by the FDA?

Thank you for your testimony at the hearing and for your follow-up to provide these requested documents.Sincerely,

Tom Harkin

Chairman

Chat - Kathy Means

Kathy Means began her produce career at The Packer, spending about nine years at the paper before moving to the Produce Marketing Association. Means, vice president of government relations and public affairs for the Newark, Del.-based PMA, on Jan. 30 took time for a chat with Tom Karst and the Fresh Talk blog.

1:31 PM Tom: Thanks for making time for another Fresh Talk Chat. First of all, I know your roots are from the Midwest/KC area. I like to start off with a question about roots. What do you like about life in the Eastern U.S. compared with your days growing up near KC?
1:35 PM kathy.means.pma: I wouldn't change growing up in St. Joseph for anything, and I love Kansas City. Love getting back there to visit my family and see my favorite haunts (including KU!). And I also love living in Delaware. We do have a few things that are impossible to get in the Midwest — an ocean, for one. We also have the advantage of being within a couple of hours of New York City, Washington, DC, Philadelphia, Baltimore and more. But ultimately what's most important about where you live is having strong relationships with family and friends. That transcends any geography.
1:36 PM Tom: You bring up Delaware. One question about Newark...what's the favorite lunch spot for PMA staff? What kind of town is Newark, anyway?
1:38 PM kathy.means.pma: Newark is a college town. Great Main Street, wonderful restaurants, college activities -- sports, arts. Probably no single favorite restaurant — we have a lot of employees, so a lot of different tastes. But some of the favorites are Iron Hill Brewery, Daddy O’s, Applebee’s, and the Blue Crab.
1:40 PM Tom: I need to get back there — hopefully in good weather. Something about you that most but not all people know is you spent about 9 years with The Packer. Do you consider that experience helpful to what you do now? If so, how?
1:45 PM kathy.means.pma: Yes, I spent nine great years at The Packer — four in the KC office and five as eastern editor, based outside Philadelphia. My schooling is in journalism — University of Kansas, the best! When I first came to PMA it was to create the association’s communications department. That department expanded to include issues management, and from that we built the government relations and public affairs team. For me, journalism and association work are founded in one of my favorite things — the first amendment: the right to free speech and press, the right to assemble (at the heart of associations — that's what we are, an assembly of like-minded people) and to petition the government. (Freedom of religion is in that amendment as well — but less relevant to this conversation.) Not only is there that constitutional connection, but my work at The Packer built my connection to the produce industry — learning from many of the greats — often in associations (Danny Dempster, Bryan Silbermann, Bob Carey), but also in industry companies and the government.
1:47 PM Tom: It's hard to believe how PMA has expanded its service to the industry over the years. If I'm right, you supervise about 20 in the marketing/communications/customer service arena. In your years at PMA, how do you think the industry has changed in terms of how it engages with the association?
1:54 PM kathy.means.pma: I used to supervise the marketing, communications, and customer service area, and you're right, that's a big group. Now, however, I’m over a smaller group of three — the Government Relations and Public Affairs team — Lee Mannering and Cynthia Clifton. And we work with Tom O'Brien as our Washington DC representative. I’ve been with PMA 19 years (hmmmm, how old does that make me?). And, yes, things have changed a great deal in the past 19 years. PMA has always had a strong supply-chain-wide approach to everything. And that's been a great approach because it builds solutions for the whole industry (think PLUs as just one example). In the past, though, we've been known as a convention and exposition. In fact, for the longest time (and even to some extent today), our name was used in two ways. There was PMA, the association, and there was The PMA, the convention and expo. Certainly Fresh Summit (the convention's real name) is a critically important event for the entire industry. But more and more members are finding year-round value in the services the association provides — training, information, issues management, government affairs, research, other events (foodservice conference, Fresh Connection events). We’re more than five days in October and that value has increased significantly over the past 20 years.
1:56 PM Tom: You have been right in the heart of food safety/regulatory affairs for some time now. As you look ahead to that appears to be a revival of regulation with the Obama Administration, how do you see upside and downside realities for the industry?
2:01 PM kathy.means.pma: It's unusual for an association to call for regulation, but after the past three or four years we find ourselves in a position where we must do that. Though the economy has rightly pushed all other priorities aside, I think we can still expect to see food safety legislation and regulation moving forward. We're already seeing that — the Dingell bill has reappeared and FDA is very active in GAPs and third party certification efforts. Our job is to work with those who are crafting this laws and regulations to be sure they recognize the realities of the marketplace as they improve food safety. And we have definite ideas about how this should be accomplished.
2:02 PM Tom: Kathy, great insights. I appreciate your time and don't like to keep people longer than 30 minutes. One more question. I know you have a Blackberry, er crackberry as it is affectionately called. Do you ever leave it behind?
2:05 PM kathy.means.pma: I do. It’s an invaluable tool, and sometimes I refer to it as a tether. But it actually frees me up. I can be working anywhere — so important when we’re having a crisis or regulators need to find me or we're watching legislation. But it’s just as important to set it aside and remember real life — those relationships I was talking about earlier.
2:06 PM Tom: I don’t have one, but it is hard enough to get away from this laptop. Again, thanks Kathy and hopefully we can chat again soon...

Florida citrus: Dodging the proverbial bullet

From Florida Citrus Mutual:

Cold weather swept across Florida’s citrus belt last night, however, temperatures didn’t get low enough for long enough to cause significant damage to the crop.

“We feel like we dodged the proverbial bullet,” said Michael W. Sparks, executive VP/CEO of Florida Citrus Mutual. “There will probably be spot damage here and there but in terms of large scale problems, we came through okay.”

Temperatures must reach 28 degrees for a four-hour period to cause damage to the oranges, grapefruit and tangerines grown in Florida. Although there were reports of sub-freezing temperatures around the state, in most cases they weren’t sustained for four hours.

The Agricultural Weather Information Service (AWIS) out of Auburn, AL, which Mutual uses as a forecaster, accurately tracked last night’s temperatures.

“We are still assessing scattered freeze damage to citrus crops from the January 22 event so I’m relieved that Mother Nature cut us a break this time,” said Fran Becker, Mutual’s president and VP of Fruit Procurement at Peace River Citrus Products Inc. in Arcadia. “Looking ahead to tonight we should be okay as temperatures are forecast to be a few degrees higher, however, we will have good radiational cooling conditions across the citrus belt and the usual cold spots could see lower temps and heavy frost. We still expect to produce the quality crop that Florida is known for.”

The USDA is scheduled to issue its latest crop estimate on February 10 which will most likely account for the freeze damage Florida citrus has experienced in the past month. For more information on the estimate visit http://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/Florida/Publications/Citrus/index.asp

The Florida citrus industry creates a $9.3 billion annual economic impact, employing nearly 76,000 people, and covering more than 576,000 acres. Founded in 1948 and currently representing nearly 8,000 grower members, Florida Citrus Mutual is the state’s largest citrus grower organization. For more information, visit www.flcitrusmutual.com.

Harkin to FDA: submit records of contracts with states

From the office of Sen. Tom Harkin today:


During a food safety hearing before the Senate Agriculture Committee today, Chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA) called on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to submit to Congress records detailing contracts with state Departments of Agriculture to conduct food safety inspections of private companies. The request came on the heels of the recall of peanuts and peanut products from the Peanut Corporation of America, which has been linked to a Salmonella outbreak that has killed eight and sickened 575, including three in Harkin’s home state of Iowa.
“We know what happens when federal oversight is deregulated,” said Harkin. “We saw the impact of deregulation on our financial sector and now we are seeing the impact of weak oversight on food safety inspections. To say that food safety in this country is a patchwork system is giving it too much credit. Food safety in America has too often become a hit-or-miss gamble, and that is truly frightening.”
During testimony before the Committee, the FDA testified that the Peanut Corporation of America’s own testing found 12 incidents of Salmonella at the plant since 2007. Under law, the company does not have to report these findings to the FDA and despite these warnings, the last time federal inspectors were sent to the company was in 2001. Instead, the FDA relied on the company to remedy the problems. Yesterday, media reports showed a Texas company linked to Peanut Corporation, which had been contracted out to the Texas Department of Agriculture for inspection, had not been inspected by either federal or state officials for almost four years.“FDA is increasingly relying on states to conduct food safety inspections and this system is not working. I urge the FDA to submit to Congress details of the contracts and inspection reports with individual states immediately as we work to close the gaping loopholes in our nation’s food safety system,” he concluded.

Opening statement - Sen. Tom Harkin at Senate Ag Commitee on federal food safety oversight

From the office of Sen. Tom Harkin this morning;

“Good morning. I welcome everyone to the Committee.

“Forgive me, but I’m going to skip the niceties and get right to the point. I am nothing short of outraged at the increasing number of outbreaks of food-borne illness in this country. Everything from spinach and lettuce to beef products and, now, peanut products has been implicated. Within the last year, we had the biggest recall ever under USDA jurisdiction. And just in the last month, with the recall of peanut products from the Peanut Corporation of America, we had one of the largest recalls ever under FDA jurisdiction.

“To say that food safety in this country is a patchwork system is giving it too much credit. Food safety in America has too often become a hit-or-miss gamble, and that is truly frightening. When Americans can’t count on the safety of basic items that go into our children’s lunch boxes, then we are in big trouble.

“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tells us that there are 76 million cases of food-borne illness annually in the U.S., resulting in 325,000 hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths. Those statistics would be disturbing anywhere in the world. They are totally intolerable in the United States of America.

“Reducing the instances of food-borne illness in this country means examining every step in the food safety process.

“Our systems for tracing tainted products and removing them from commerce must be stronger, better coordinated, faster, and more efficient. Regardless of the level of contamination, we need to be able to identify the source accurately, promptly, and act quickly.

“As in all of health care, prevention of the illness is the key. Prevention is much less costly than the treatment. We must focus on getting the food safety done right in the first place, before the pathogens get into the food.

“Bear in mind that this is both a health issue – and it is also an economic issue. It is inevitable that demand for the food crop involved in the outbreak will fall sharply. During a recall, retailers lose business, processors lose customers, and – as our Ranking Member, Senator Chambliss knows all too well – farmers suffer as well. Entire communities can face economic devastation.

“We have got to come up with a better, smarter approach to food safety. We have got to make the investments both in better systems, and in putting more inspectors on the ground. This is about the integrity of our food supply. And it is about the health and wellness of our people.

“So our goal, this morning, is to explore what went wrong, and what we need to do to get things right. We have a distinguished panel of witnesses. I look forward to your best counsel as to how we can do a far better job of preventing outbreaks . . . and, when outbreaks happen, how we can do a better job of stopping them very early on before they spread.

“With that, I will now turn to Ranking Member Chambliss for his opening remarks.”

Potatoes - the pink slip commodity and other top headlines

I thought bananas might give potatoes a run for the money, or lack thereof, as the most recession resistant commodity. Our fresh talk readers have spoken:

What is the most recession resistant produce commodity?

apples	3 (10%)
bananas	5 (16%)
potatoes	17 (56%)
lettuce	2 (6%)
oranges	1 (3%)
onions	2 (6%)

Votes so far: 30
Poll closed

More headlines snatched from the Web, starting out with evidence of the greening of the political class

Obama's energy secretary: act on global warming or California could be a dust bowl From the Guardian in the UK

In blunt language, Chu said Americans had yet to fully understand the urgency of dealing with climate change. "I don't think the American public has gripped in its gut what could happen," he told the Los Angeles Times in his first interview since taking the post. "We're looking at a scenario where there's no more agriculture in California. I don't actually see how they can keep their cities going."

California drought expected to worsen: officials draw up ration plan From Ventura County Star

Groups wage battle over adding E-verify to stimulus bill From Nextgov
The battle pits immigrant advocates against proponents of stiffer enforcement of the immigration laws, who want to require firms receiving contracts under the stimulus bill to use E-Verify, which checks databases maintained by the Social Security Administration and the Homeland Security Department to determine the legal status of employees.

Aldi selects McCann Erikson as advertising agency The Earth Times

The rise of farmers markets From The Resident in U.S. northeast


Guatemala to export 4.5 million boxes of mango in 2009 From The Guatemala Times
Guatemala has approximately six thousand hectares of mango cultivation; over 50% of the production obtained is exported. 95% percent of the exported mangos go to the US markets the remaining 5% reaches European markets.

Japan's prime minister: Stimulus "buy American" provision wrong From Bloomberg
Obama willing to see provisions go away, report says

More Japan food trends USDA FAS report

The morning banana diet comes to US From Calorie Lab: Japan was gaga over the banana diet

AgJobs in the spotlight again: New York senator weighs in From the Watertown Daily Times

Farm lobbyists expect Sen. Dianne M. Feinstein, D-Calif., to propose an immigration bill for farm workers, called AgJobs, by spring, following six fruitless years of trying to pass it. The bills would typically come before the Judiciary Committee, but probably not without input from members of the Agriculture Committee, which has been a roadblock in the past.


Peanut mess shows flaws with FDA From the SF Chronicle

Credit card late payments hit record high From Market Watch

I love my healthy active adulthood and other headlines

Here is a link to a page with an hyperlink of the interview I had with Bill Marler Jan. 23. You'll already find the story from the interview online at The Packer site...

It sounds as if President Obama isn't exactly inspiring Wall Street confidence with new limits on executive pay for firms receiving bailout money.
Other headlines this early morning:

How organic is organic food? From The Appetizer in Canada:

Since it's left entirely up to the farmers to declare what's in their products, this lack of supervision makes Popoff skeptical of the entire industry.

"Everyone who is certified organic, pays the money and jumps through all of the hoops are going to say 'those jokers over there who are just organic, how do you know they're really organic?' My question is, how do you know anyone is organic? Even if they are doing the damn paperwork and paying the fee, there's no way of knowing," explained Popoff.

Right now, organic food is being held at the same level as conventional food, according to Popoff.

"It has to be a more stringent test. If organic is grown without chemicals, you can assume it's 5 per cent, if not less, than the amount you expect to find in conventional food. You need a threshold," he said.

China already in recession? Seeking Alpha: How it happened:
China and the other mercantilist countries (those countries that were maximizing exports and minimizing imports) were relying upon the United States to buy ever more of their products. But since the mercantilists weren't buying more and more American products, American consumers weren't earning more and more income. For a while, American consumers borrowed on their homes to buy imports. But when their home prices plummeted, they couldn't keep borrowing. This caused demand for the mercantilist countries' products to plummet.

Border opens to Alberta seed potatoes Capital Press

Florida braces for chilly night AP

Chile takes steps to revive salmon industry NYT

Shocking number don't know obesity causes cancer From Vital Signs

"Thirty to 40 per cent of cancers could be preventable if people led healthier lives, tackling overweight and obesity," Slavin added.

A global prevention campaign aimed primarily at youngsters has now been launched to deal with the growing crisis.

Called "I Love My Healthy Active Childhood," it aims to encourage children to have an energy-balanced lifestyle, based on a healthy diet and physical activity.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) an estimated 22 million children under five are overweight today, and the problem is growing.

Des Moines Register: USDA suspends 19 from vet lab in Ames for illegal drug purchases

98 cent produce pack increases Fresh & Easy produce sales

The 98 cent produce pack is having its intended effect, says the latest Fresh & Easy news release. First, background on the 98 cent produce pack.

From coverage in The Packer, Jan. 19:

Tesco offers 98-cent produce packs
By Bob Luder, Senior Writer
Fresh & Easy has introduced 98-cent produce packs, it says, in response customers on a budget needing fresh quality products.
According to a news release, British retail giant Tesco's U.S. division, El Segundo, Calif.-based Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Markets, has noticed a sharp spike in its sales of canned foods over the past few months, particularly canned fruits and vegetables. The 98-cent pack was created to satisfy the need for budget-friendly fresh products.
"One of the things we've noticed in this recent economy is that customers are looking to save money," said Brendan Wonnacott, Fresh & Easy spokesman. "But obviously they don't want to compromise on quality. That's why we've introduced the 98-cent produce packs. They're affordable, but also high quality."
The 98-cent produce packs are delivered fresh daily to stores and currently include apples, oranges, peaches, carrots, bell peppers and tomatoes. With the new line, customers can always choose from six fruits and vegetables, which will rotate depending on season and availability.
"The reception we've received from customers has been fantastic, whether it's with comments on our Web site or leaving comment cards on site," Wonnacott said. "They're very excited about this new opportunity. It's been selling very well."


Today, sliding across the inbox, is this news release from Fresh & Easy:

Produce sales at Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market stores have increased more than 11 percent since January, when the grocer introduced 98-cent Produce Packs in response to customers looking for fresh fruits and vegetables on a budget. This sharp increase in sales shows people are continuing to look for ways to stretch their budgets while seeking out quality items.

TK: The release quotes Simon Uwins, chief marketing officer for Fresh & Easy, stating that the 98 cent produce packs offer customers a "great way to save money without compromising on quality or freshness."

The Perishable Pundit said this about the concept on Jan. 13:

We know value is the hot thing today and, certainly, consumers like a deal. However, one day the store is promoting its green credentials; the next day it’s the place you get stuff for under a buck. This is no way to build a consistent image.We also wonder if it is actually addressing the problem consumers experience in shopping for fresh produce at Fresh & Easy

TK: I think Jim protests too much (as usual when it comes to his takes on F & E) about the value-themed Fresh & Easy 98 cent produce strategy. With the economy in the iron grip of the reccesion, the 98 cent produce pack appears to be working - and that's a good thing for consumers and for Fresh & Easy.