Thursday, September 20, 2007
The Fresh Produce Safety Act
A year ago, there was a large-scale outbreak of food-borne illness caused by a virulent strain of E. coli in fresh bagged spinach. More than 200 people became ill, and three died. Since then, U.S. consumers have been bombarded with news of repeated cases of contaminated food — everything from peanut butter to seafood to pet food. Just this week, there was a recall of a Dole bagged salad product because of E. coli contamination.
It seems these fresh-produce recalls have become the rule rather than the exception in the United States — and that is unacceptable. It is increasingly clear that the Food and Drug Administration lacks the resources — and the reach — to ensure the safety of the U.S. food supply. For example, it was reported last week that operations that grow and process leafy green produce are inspected by FDA once in every three years, on average.
We need to restore the public's confidence in American fresh produce and the agency that regulates it. To that end, today, I will introduce the Fresh Produce Safety Act of 2007. My aim is to create, for the first time, an effective national food safety framework for all fresh produce.
Industry groups are acutely aware of the need to restore consumer confidence. For instance, the California leafy green produce industry has come up with a marketing agreement to certify the safety of its products. The Florida tomato industry has pushed the state to inspect and regulate its products. But this regional, patchwork approach is simply not adequate. We need a national program to ensure the safety of all fresh produce all across the country.
Under the Fresh Produce Safety Act, FDA would have the authority to require produce companies to follow common-sense food safety guidelines. Those guidelines currently are only voluntary. Now, obviously, it would be a waste of resources to require the same stringent controls for, say, apples that we would require for leafy green produce. That's why my bill requires FDA to establish national standards tailored to specific types of produce and the particular risk factors arising from the way each is grown and handled. The legislation also requires stepped-up inspections of operations that grow and process fresh produce, such as spinach or lettuce.
Other key provisions of the bill include a surveillance system to identify and stop the sources of fresh produce contamination, and a research program to better understand and prevent contamination of produce. My legislation would also require FDA to write rules to ensure that imported produce has been grown and processed under the same standards that we will have in the U.S.
The Fresh Produce Safety Act is timely for another reason. Eating fruits and vegetables promotes lower body weight, stronger bones, and lower risk of developing diet-related diseases such as diabetes. In recent years, major efforts and investments have encouraged people to eat these healthful foods. It can only turn people away from healthy eating to have continuous instances of E. coli contamination and fresh produce recalls.
The American people need to have confidence that their fruits and vegetables are produced and handled in a safe and wholesome manner. That is exactly the goal of the Fresh Produce Safety Act.
