[USCC] Fwd: CSPI Asks California to Establish " ... Mandatory Regulations Governing Manure, Water and Sanitation on Farms ..."

[Jim McNelly]

>
>*   CSPI Asks California to Establish " ... 
>Mandatory Regulations Governing Manure, Water 
>and Sanitation on Farms ..." - On October 25, 
>the Center for Science in the Public Interest 
>(CSPI) issued a News Release, titled "California 
>Urged to Monitor Farms for Food Safety; States 
>Can Move Faster Than the Federal Government to 
>Implement Standards, Says CSPI," which states in 
>part that " ... The state of California should 
>move quickly to adopt regulations governing the 
>production of fruit and vegetables in California 
>since no federal agency has yet adopted 
>standards, according to the nonprofit Center for 
>Science in the Public Interest (CSPI). In a 
>legal petition filed with Governor Arnold 
>Schwarzenegger and California Department of 
>Health Services Director Sandra Shewry, CSPI 
>food safety director Caroline Smith DeWaal said 
>that mandatory regulations governing manure, 
>water and sanitation on farms could help reduce 
>the number of produce-borne food outbreaks, such 
>as the recent outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 traced 
>to California-farmed spinach ... CSPI urged the 
>officials to adopt measures similar to the 
>Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points 
>(HACCP) standards that meat and poultry 
>producers are required to comply with 
>nationwide. HACCP systems coupled with test and 
>hold programs for ground beef have proven 
>effective in reducing the number of E. coli 
>O157:H7 outbreaks linked to beef ... CSPI’s 
>petition also urges better hygiene and 
>sanitation on farms, and for improved package 
>markings that can be used to track back produce 
>to the farm of origin ... In other action, last 
>week CSPI wrote to U.S. Health and Human 
>Services Secretary Mike Leavitt to request that 
>the department do a fair and accurate reporting 
>of the deaths and illnesses linked to the recent 
>spinach outbreak. Specifically, CSPI asked that 
>Leavitt declare June Edith Dunning, an elderly 
>Maryland woman who died September 13 from 
>complications due to E. coli 0157:H7, as the 
>fourth fatal victim of the spinach outbreak that 
>affected consumers in 26 states and further, 
>that Leavitt personally assess the methods being 
>used by CDC to distinguish 'official' cases from 
>'suspect' cases and give a full accounting of 
>the public health impact of this outbreak ..." - 
>The complete text of the CSPI News Release is 
>posted at 
><http://www.cspinet.org/new/200610251.html>http://www.cspinet.org/new/200610251.html 
>- The CSPI petition filed with the state of 
>California is posted at 
><http://cspinet.org/new/pdf/ca_produce_petition.pdf>http://cspinet.org/new/pdf/ca_produce_petition.pdf 
>and the CSPI Letter to Secretary Leavitt is 
>posted at 
><http://cspinet.org/new/pdf/leavitt_letter.pdf>http://cspinet.org/new/pdf/leavitt_letter.pdf 
>- Information about CSPI is posted at <http://cspinet.org/>http://cspinet.org
>
>http://www.cspinet.org/new/200610251.html
>
>For Immediate Release:  October 25, 2006
>
>Related Links:
>
>CSPI's Petition to California 
>http://cspinet.org/new/pdf/ca_produce_petition.pdf
>CSPI's Letter to HHS Secretary Leavitt 
>http://cspinet.org/new/pdf/leavitt_letter.pdf
>
>California Urged to Monitor Farms for Food Safety
>
>States Can Move Faster Than the Federal 
>Government to Implement Standards, Says CSPI
>
>WASHINGTON—The state of California should move 
>quickly to adopt regulations governing the 
>production of fruit and vegetables in California 
>since no federal agency has yet adopted 
>standards, according to the nonprofit Center for 
>Science in the Public Interest (CSPI). In a 
>legal petition filed with Governor Arnold 
>Schwarzenegger and California Department of 
>Health Services Director Sandra Shewry, CSPI 
>food safety director Caroline Smith DeWaal said 
>that mandatory regulations governing manure, 
>water and sanitation on farms could help reduce 
>the number of produce-borne food outbreaks, such 
>as the recent outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 traced to California-farmed spinach.
>
>“California should implement standards to 
>protect its consumers and its produce industry, 
>instead of waiting for Congress or one of the 
>federal agencies with food safety 
>responsibilities to step in,” DeWaal said. “This 
>is clearly a case where prompt action at the 
>state level could prevent future outbreaks.”
>
>CSPI urged the officials to adopt measures 
>similar to the Hazard Analysis and Critical 
>Control Points (HACCP) standards that meat and 
>poultry producers are required to comply with 
>nationwide. HACCP systems coupled with test and 
>hold programs for ground beef have proven 
>effective in reducing the number of E. coli 
>O157:H7 outbreaks linked to beef. Meanwhile, 
>outbreaks linked to fresh produce have increased 
>in recent years, according to CSPI. In addition 
>to the recent spinach outbreak, tomatoes, 
>lettuces, melons, sprouts, carrot juice and 
>other foods contaminated with E. coli, 
>Salmonella or other pathogens have caused 
>outbreaks. Those pathogens are usually—though 
>not always—linked back to animal agriculture, 
>which CSPI says warrants a particular regulatory focus on manure and water.
>
>The same strain of E. coli that sickened 200 and 
>killed at least three in the recent spinach 
>outbreak has been matched with that of cattle 
>manure found near one of the spinach fields at 
>issue. CSPI says that the use of raw manure as 
>fertilizer should be prohibited during the 
>growing season, and that composting practices 
>should be monitored to ensure pathogens are 
>destroyed. Water used for irrigation must be 
>tested and found suitable and only drinkable 
>water should be used in produce processing facilities, according to the group.
>
>CSPI’s petition also urges better hygiene and 
>sanitation on farms, and for improved package 
>markings that can be used to track back produce to the farm of origin.
>
>“We are reaching a tipping point, where 
>consumers may not trust voluntary industry 
>programs and instead may choose to stop eating 
>foods that are both convenient and vital to good 
>health. I don’t think Salinas County growers can 
>afford to be the cause of another large 
>outbreak,” DeWaal said. “California often takes 
>the lead in health and food safety issues when 
>the federal government is slow to act. The state 
>should exercise its leadership in this instance 
>by giving our food supply a safe start on its farms.”
>
>The petition CSPI filed with the state of 
>California is available at http://cspinet.org/new/pdf/ca_produce_petition.pdf.
>
>In other action, last week CSPI wrote to U.S. 
>Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt 
>to request that the department do a fair and 
>accurate reporting of the deaths and illnesses 
>linked to the recent spinach outbreak. 
>Specifically, CSPI asked that Leavitt declare 
>June Edith Dunning, an elderly Maryland woman 
>who died September 13 from complications due to 
>E. coli 0157:H7, as the fourth fatal victim of 
>the spinach outbreak that affected consumers in 
>26 states and further, that Leavitt personally 
>assess the methods being used by CDC to 
>distinguish “official” cases from “suspect” 
>cases and give a full accounting of the public health impact of this outbreak.
>
>The letter to Leavitt is available at 
>http://cspinet.org/new/pdf/leavitt_letter.pdf
>
>end
>
>
>
>The above information was sent to you by:
>
>Jack Cooper
>
>Food Industry Environmental Network, LLC (FIEN, 
>LLC) - see http://www.fien.com - FIEN, LLC is a 
>regulatory and policy e-mail update service for 
>the agriculture and food industry which is operated as a partnership by:
>
>Jack L. Cooper
>Food Industry Environmental Network, LLC
>33 Falling Creek Court, Silver Spring, Maryland 20904
>Phone: 301 384 8287 --- E- Mail: JLC at fien.com
>and
>Cindy Roberts
>Food Industry Environmental Network, LLC
>1464 Harvard St. NW, Suite 14
>Washington, DC 20009-4610
>Phone: 202 669 6951 --- E-Mail: CAR at fien.com