Headline roundup - Rabobank on U.S. traceback and a new salmonella outbreak?

If you are a regular reader, you know I update my headline links periodically at the bottom of the blog. Here is a roundup of headlines I snatched from the Web today. Plenty of interesting items, including the meeting of chemists to explore phytochemicals in f/v, a Rabobank report piling on about the slow U.S. traceback system, coverage of a new salmonella outbreak in New Mexico, an L.A. Times piece about how foodborne illness outbreaks have convinced retailers to toe the line on food safety because of the risk of consumer lawsuits and more.

Consortium formed to expand recycling options for bioplastics

Destructive fruit fly found in SGV

National chemistry meeting looks at f/v phytochemicals

Rabobank: U.S. traceback system "slow, inaccurate and difficult"

Brambles declines with growth concerns

New Salmonella outbreak in Sante Fe

Questions remain about salmonella outbreak

Sold on food safety

US in recession has housing figures plunge

Risk of recession has stimulus fades

Obesity continues to rise in most states

Food costs weigh on schools

Organics growing despite downturn

Five financial costs of obesity

Jalapeno: testing positive

A pepper reportedly purchased at Wal-Mart by a consumer sickened by Salmonella Saintpaul has tested positive for the same DNA pattern as the Salmonella Saintpaul pathogen involved in the multi state outbreak. Doug Powell of the Food Safety Network passes on this link from a newspaper in La Junta, Colo. with the story.
Meanwhile, here is the link to the Colorado Department of Public Health, and excerpts from that news release, which has been the foundation for most media reports:


DENVER - The Laboratory Services Division of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has confirmed that a jalapeno pepper provided by an ill individual from Montezuma County has tested positive with the same DNA pattern of Salmonella Saintpaul-the strain that has caused a large, multistate outbreak of salmonella.
The pepper was purchased at a local Wal-Mart, likely on June 24, and the individual became ill on July 4. This is the first pepper linked directly to an ill person in this outbreak.
The state health department is working with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to determine the origin of the pepper.
On Friday, the FDA advised consumers that all fresh jalapeno and serrano peppers grown in the United States are not associated with the Salmonella Saintpaul outbreak. However, jalapeno and serrano peppers grown outside of the United States should be eaten only if they have been processed or canned. They should not be eaten raw.
This advisory was based on evidence gathered during a multiweek, intensive investigation conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in partnership with the FDA and several states to find the source of the contamination that led to the outbreak.
State health officials advised consumers who are going to purchase jalapeno or serrano peppers to first ask their grocer’s manager where their peppers were grown.
The CDC reports that since April 1,304 people have been infected with a strain of Salmonella Saintpaul having the same genetic fingerprint. Cases have been identified in 43 states, the District of Columbia and Canada, with 16 confirmed cases reported in Colorado-Adams (2); Denver (2); Douglas (1); El Paso (3); Montezuma (2); Otero (2); Pueblo (3); Weld (1).
Salmonella causes diarrhea, oftentimes bloody, and is accompanied by stomach cramps and fever. Symptoms typically begin within one to four days after exposure to the bacteria. Although most people recover without treatment, severe infections may occur. In infants, people with poor underlying health and those with weakened immune systems, Salmonella can invade the bloodstream and cause life-threatening infections.
Consumers are advised to follow the general food safety guidelines below:
Refrigerate within two hours or discard cut, peeled or cooked produce.
Avoid purchasing bruised or damaged produce.
Discard any produce that appears spoiled.
Thoroughly wash all produce under running water.
Keep produce that will be consumed raw separate from raw meats, raw seafood and raw produce items.
Wash cutting boards, dishes, utensils and counter tops with hot water and soap when switching between types of food products.
Consumers are reminded that vegetables are an important part of a healthy diet and that cooking vegetables kills bacteria, including Salmonella.
FDA information on this investigation can be found at http://www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/tomatoes.html.

FDA clears U.S. jalapenos

MONTEREY, Calif. -- As we arrived in Monterey for the annual Produce Marketing Association Foodservice Expo today, we were greeted with good news on the salmonella front. Below is the notice the United Fresh Produce Association notice sent to its members Friday afternoon.

Meanwhile, read Fresh Talk all weekend as I, sections editor Dan Galbraith, and Salinas-area staff writer John Chadwell cover the PMA Foodservice show.

Stay tuned Sunday morning as The Packer reveals its 7th Annual Foodservice Achievement Award winner.

---
FDA has announced this afternoon that it is revising its consumer advice to indicate that all fresh jalapeno and Serrano peppers grown in the United States are not associated with the Salmonella Saintpaul outbreak, and are thus safe to consume. Retailers and restaurants are advised that they may sell U.S. grown peppers without concern about this outbreak.

FDA is continuing its investigation and has confirmed that the jalapeño peppers distributed by Agricola Zaragoza of McAllen, Texas, were grown in Mexico, and that the contamination did not originate at the wholesaler’s facility. FDA said it could not yet narrow its consumer advisory to a specific producer or any specific region of the country, but is working to do so. It is taking environmental samples from several jalapeño pepper farms.

CDC also updated its website today, reporting that more than 1280 persons infected with Salmonella saintpaul with the same genetic fingerprint have been identified in 43 states and the District of Columbia. The onset of illness dates now range from April 10 to July 10. CDC considers this an ongoing outbreak.

GJ: It looks like FDA may be starting to listen to the many critics, both inside and outside the produce industry. There was no reason for, say, a North Carolina hot pepper shipper to be under an FDA advisory following the find in south Texas.

Tomato compensation and searching for the jalapeno king

It is going to be tough to set a dollar amount on the damages incurred by the tomato industry as a result of the salmonella outbreak advisories. Factors such as acreage and weather conditions play into the level of shipments and the market price. One would assume that figures will be put forward in next week's Congressional hearings that attempt to estimate the cost. In fact, here is an AP video on the compensation issues can be found:






Further, here is a press release from Rep. Tim Mahoney of Florida about legislation he has already introduced to address the problem:

Following the Food & Drug Administration's (FDA) announcement that tomatoes were not the likely source of a recent salmonella outbreak, Congressman Tim Mahoney (FL-16) has introduced a bill, H.R. 6581, to compensate tomato growers and packers nationwide for their losses due to the salmonella scare, which according to the Florida Tomato Exchange's estimates could be close to $100 million.
Congressman Mahoney, who is Florida's only representative on the House Agriculture Committee, also called on the Committee to hold field hearings in his district to examine what reforms are needed to ensure food safety. The Agriculture Committee plans to schedule a hearing in mid-September.
"The FDA's warnings about tomatoes devastated the $1.3 billion tomato industry. Due to the timing of the salmonella outbreak, Florida was hit hard. We need to ensure that all impacted tomato growers and packers are compensated for their losses to protect domestic food production," said Congressman Mahoney. "With unfortunate events like this, Americans are becoming aware that food safety and national security are synonymous. We clearly need to examine and overhaul our food safety system to ensure that the food we grow and import is safe."
In April, the FDA issued a nationwide warning that tomatoes were a possible source of a salmonella outbreak that made 1,220 people ill in 42 states, the District of Columbia and Canada. After a long investigation, the FDA recently determined that fresh tomatoes now available in the domestic market are not associated with the current outbreak and the agency has rescinded its warning against eating certain types of red raw tomatoes.
The Mahoney Bill, which is also cosponsored by U.S. Representatives Allen Boyd, Adam Putnam, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, and Vern Buchanan, directs the Secretary of Agriculture to make payments to tomato growers and first handlers that were unable to market tomato crops as a result of the Food and Drug Administration's Public Health Advisory issued in June 2008 due to the salmonella outbreak. The U.S. Department of Agriculture will be responsible for issuing regulations and determining eligibility for compensation, as they have in other disaster programs.
"The tomato industry in our state has unfairly suffered enough," Rep. Wasserman Schultz (FL-20) said. "The FDA must reform their trace-back programs so that growers and consumers do not have to go through the same nightmare during future outbreaks."


TK: Don't expect smooth sailing for the bill. In this coverage of Mahoney's bill, the WSJ reported that consumer groups had some "pushback" on the issue.

Consumer advocates oppose the bill. Sarah Klein, a staff attorney at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, said the food-industry lobby over the years has weakened federal food-safety oversight, and consumers shouldn't foot the bill now. "We'd like to see the industry focusing on how to prevent these outbreaks for the future to protect consumers and their bottom line," she said.
Tom Stenzel, president of United Fresh Produce Association, said the fresh-produce industry has sought tougher FDA regulation of tomatoes and other items. In recent years, Florida tomato growers and California leafy-green growers pushed through tougher measures in their own states, including mandatory inspections and training.
But the industry disagrees on who should benefit from the bill. Mr. Mahoney said it covers farmers and shippers, which were hit the hardest by the FDA warning. Mr. Stenzel, said it also should cover those further up the supply chain, such as packers and repackers, who suffered damages, too.
It is uncertain whether the bill will pass Congress. There isn't similar legislation in the Senate, and there is little time for lawmakers to act before the November election. Last year, spinach growers unsuccessfully pushed a similar measure to compensate for losses after the government's 2006 recall of fresh spinach after an outbreak of E. coli.







Meanwhile, Luis provided this post at the Fresh Produce Industry Discussion Group, adding some perspective as to the size and scope of the jalapeno production and exports to the U.S.:



Exports, most of them to the United States, have risen between 10 and 15 percent every year over the last decade and now over 100,000 hectares (247,000 acres) of peppers are grown in Mexico, 80 percent of them jalapenos.
Dozens of varieties of chiles, some which provoke sweating and crying, have become a cooking trend in the United States. Food writer and spice expert Dave DeWitt describes the fad as "culinary bungee jumping."
"Very rarely do you ever hear someone say, 'I used to eat hot and spicy food but now I'm back to bland,'" said DeWitt, the author of over 30 books on chiles like "The Spicy Food Lover's Bible" and "The Chile Pepper Encyclopedia."
Inspectors are holding up truck loads of the some 100 tons of peppers crossing into the United States from Mexico every day, raising the risk of produce being left to rot before it reaches stores, Gochicoa said.

TK: Gary Lucier of the USDA Economic Research reports that imports of fresh chili peppers from Mexico during the first four months of the year - assumed to be mostly jalapenos - were up 25% compared with the same period a year ago. Shipments through the first four months of the year translated to about one pound of fresh chili peppers per person in the U.S.


Developing...I'm on the scout for a few shippers of fresh jalapenos for a market update...If there is a "jalapeno king," I will find him....

VOA: Peppers linked

Jalapeno market - No sweat

Could it be that the jalapeno market is oblivious to the FDA consumer warning?
As Jay Martini noted in the June 16 post "Geographic Irony," the Hispanic market and the Hispanic consumer were the first to come back to tomatoes. From that post by Jay:

Along with the other ethnicities that comprise the lifeblood of the present-day terminal market, Mexican grocery stores have been the only buyers up til now that have stepped up to the plate, saying in effect 'I don't care what the FDA is advising', and stocked their stores for Father's Day.

The terminal market reports from the USDA that I just pulled up from today appear to show a steady market for jalapenos everywhere.

FDA: Nationwide warning: Jalapenos

The jalapeno market is at serious risk today.

FDA's David Acheson announced a breakthrough in the case today. (Find link to audio of FDA teleconference here) A small distributor was identified in Texas (watch for David Mitchell's coverage on The Packer's news site for that name) from which a pepper was tested positive for Salmonella Saintpaul by an FDA lab. That has prompted the FDA to issue a nationwide warning for consumption of fresh jalapeno peppers. The pepper came from Mexico, FDA believes, but the warning is nationwide and includes jalapenos of all origins.

As far as where the trace-forward goes, the FDA is looking at distribution records, but said it won't release the names of retailers or foodservice distributors/operators who might have sold peppers from the distributor.

The FDA said all tomatoes are now safe to eat, but still won't exonerate tomatoes in the outbreak investigation as a possible cause earlier on.


Developing......