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 October 27, 2006 – PMA Commits $1 Million To Food Safety Fixes PMA/United Merger Fresh On Our Minds Leafy Vegetables Good For The Mind Pundit’s Mailbag — Greenhouse Solutions Botulism And Carrot Juice Summary VIX Pundit Rewind XIX: Spinach Crisis Summary
PMA Commits $1
Million The Produce Marketing Association responded to recent food safety issues in the produce industry with an announcement that its board had authorized $1 million over the next 14 months for a food safety program: The plan will be coordinated with key industry association partners to avoid duplication and ensure a timely response. The activities in the plan will also form the basis of proactive communications with state and federal government regulators. The multi-faceted program will include a research agenda to enhance growing and processing practices, enhanced education and training for all parts of the supply chain, and a verification component to help industry members evaluate their adherence to benchmark practices. In addition, the plan calls for a consumer communications campaign aimed at rebuilding confidence in produce. It was an important thing to do. If it accomplishes nothing else, it allows the PMA to go back to government and show that the industry is making a good faith effort to enhance safety. Let us hope it doesn’t give the industry a false sense of security that the problem is being “taken care of.” First, the amount of money being spent, though a very significant investment for PMA, is still a very small amount compared to the enormity of the problem. “A consumer communications campaign” alone would not be considered heavily budgeted if the proposal was to spend ten times a million dollars. There are 300 million Americans – and remember this crisis affected the perceptions of Mexicans, Canadians and others all around the world. If you want to spend just one penny per American, you need to spend $3 million. And how much awareness does one penny buy you? PMA/United Merger Fresh On Our Minds It has been many a convention since the Pundit heard so many people expressing a desire to see the Produce Marketing Association and the United Fresh Produce Association merge. Perhaps more importantly, it is the first time that the desire for a merger typically did not grow out of some self-interest, such as a desire to not feel pressured to exhibit in two shows, but, instead, grew out of a genuine concern that two associations on the national level may well be hurting the interests of the industry. The spinach/E. coli crisis impressed many with three ideas:
Number three is probably the most important. When United’s President Tom Stenzel indicated (at PMA’s town hall meeting on the spinach crisis, which we dealt with here) that he thought the key to understanding the FDA’s actions was understanding that they didn’t have faith in the produce industry and our products, the obvious question is: Whose fault is that? The bottom line on this crisis is that the FDA’s action to impose a blanket recommendation not to consume spinach bespeaks very weak relations with the produce industry. It implies little confidence in the trade and it implies that our government relations efforts haven’t been particularly effective. The key crucial obligation of produce industry government relations efforts is to have a great relationship with regulatory decision-makers so that the instinct of these decision-makers is always, “The produce industry is doing the right thing so this must be an aberration,” and “Let me call my friend over at the produce association and find out the situation because he is knowledgeable and gives me the straight story.” That relationship wasn’t there. In light of this failure, industry leaders are of a mind to reorganize. My sense is that the boards of both United and PMA would agree. The issue is really what does a merger mean? PMA is a fantastically successful organization. This was evidenced in San Diego, where they realized record attendance and record booth sales despite industry consolidation. It is also evident by the fact that PMA has sufficient surpluses to fund industry needs, such as the recent announcement of $1 million to fund food safety initiatives. United has valuable assets — a superior scientific/technical ability over PMA, a D.C. office in proximity to government offices and many important programs such as its Produce Industry Leadership Program. But its financial future is rocky with its trade show’s future up in the air, as the FMI show, its co-locator, has an uncertain future. In addition, there is dissatisfaction among many companies that the dues United charges are too high. PMA is too successful to do a merger similar to what United did with IFPA. It seems unlikely they will agree to dramatic changes in governance such as doubling the size of its Board of Directors. PMA’s division structure, in which retail and foodservice drive all the decisions, has proven effective; PMA won’t want to dilute that effectiveness. But I bet the Board of PMA would be perfectly willing to merge the associations if governance was not dramatically altered. They would operate the D.C. office as the headquarters of the produce industry’s lobbying efforts, bring the scientific and technical competency into PMA, and probably port United’s leadership program over to the new PMA Education Foundation. Although the name would be an emotional issue, I would urge the PMA board to consider a name change, perhaps even adopting United’s name — partly because Produce Marketing Association is not an accurate description of what PMA is doing even now. Mostly, though, because I can still hear Bob Carey, the longtime President of PMA who presided over its transformation from virtually nothing to a major industry institution, reminding his board as he reached the twilight of his involvement with the association, of how in its early days PMA sought to merge with United and it was rudely dismissed. He urged some magnanimity. If PMA got the governance, it could be generous with the name. When I was in South Africa, it was explained to me that Nelson Mandela, in pursuit of a peaceful transition to black rule, often used symbolic means to demonstrate this commitment to making things work. For example, Mandela’s supporters urged that the black-run governments should adopt as the new national anthem the hymm, Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika (“God Bless Africa” in the Xhosa language), which had served as the anthem of Mandela’s movement, the African National Congress, since 1925. This was in opposition to the white-run National Party that wanted to keep Die Stem van Suid-Afrika (In English “The Call of South Africa,” which had been the anthem since 1957 (superseding God Save The Queen). Eventually Mandela arranged for a new hybrid anthem using elements of both. Perhaps keeping the first two English lines of the anthem in our minds might allow for some symbolic give to make this happen: Sounds the call to come together, Perhaps the most exciting food industry news out last week was that Disney now has plans to make fruits and vegetables the “default choice” on fast food meals served at its theme park restaurants. This means that if you order a #1, you will get a hamburger, a drink and some carrots, for example, rather than french fries. Although a number of restaurant chains have started to offer choices that can be substituted for french fries, the default choice for most is still french fries. I haven’t seen a study specifically related to food choices at fast food. However, there are many studies which show that being the default choice in almost any situation substantially increases the likelihood of selection. Beyond that, this is the type of change that starts to influence the culture. Much as bans on smoking have gradually changed attitudes so that today the group of people puffing at the entrance to an office building during a frigid winter day start to look pathetic, so will people who go out of their way to order fattening food start to look less normal and more out of control. Changing the cultural norm to eat more produce will significantly impact sales, consumption and public health. Leafy Vegetables Good For The Mind There is a new study out that is getting a lot of media attention. The conclusion of this study: High vegetable but not fruit consumption may be associated with slower rate of cognitive decline with older age. One should never get too excited about the results of any one study. Still, this is a serious piece of work done by the Rush Institute for Healthy Aging in Chicago. There is some concern since, as far as I can see, the study did not attempt to control for other “healthy lifestyle” indicators. In other words, people who eat more vegetables may be focused on health and so might exercise frequently or drink red wine or do crossword puzzles to keep the mind active — and this might be the cause of slower cognitive decline, not vegetables. This is why the study conclusion identifies only association, not causality, between vegetable consumption and slower mental decline. The spinach industry gets a much needed boost from the study, as Fox News reports: Green leafy vegetables, including spinach, kale and collards, appeared to be the most beneficial. The researchers said that may be because they contain healthy amounts of vitamin E, an antioxidant that is believed to help fight chemicals produced by the body that can damage cells. Although this particular study focused on older people, the study may have implications for our efforts to help children to eat more produce. In an exchange with Bryan Silberman in PRODUCE BUSINESS last year, the Pundit pointed out that we need to focus on getting children to eat vegetables, but many of the efforts to increase produce consumption focus on snack fruit. Another interesting thought derived from this study is that various efforts to reduce obesity, which include things such as fat-free dressings and not using dressing but just a little lemon juice, may deprive consumers of healthy fats important to realize the benefits this study associates with vegetable consumption: Vegetables generally contain more vitamin E than fruits, which were not linked with slowed mental decline in the study. Vegetables also are often eaten with healthy fats such as salad oils, which help the body absorb vitamin E and other antioxidants, said lead author Martha Clare Morris, a researcher at the Rush Institute for Healthy Aging at Chicago’s Rush University Medical Center. All this really goes to show the limits of association studies. People who eat lots of salad, in general, eat lots of salad dressing. Which means that, for all we know, the beneficial effects observed to be associated with salads may really be associated with salad dressing! Pundit’s Mailbag — Greenhouse Solutions We’ve been intrigued at the potential of greenhouses and controlled environment agriculture for a long time. So as soon as the spinach crisis broke, we asked if this wasn’t an opportunity for greenhouses. Then Lou Cooperhouse, Director, Rutgers Food Innovation Center, led us to look more intently at hydroponics. Then Marvin N. Miller, Market Research Manager, Ball Horticulture Company, led us to Bob Langhans and Lou Albright and their fascinating work at Cornell on Controlled Environment Agriculture. In writing about the Spinach Town Hall Meeting at the PMA Convention, we addressed our frustration with the FDA for not clearly defining how much safety, precisely, they wanted the industry to “procure,” acknowledging that more safety would cost more money. We gave as our ultimate example that we could grow everything in greenhouses if we were willing to pay the price. This assumption, that growing everything in a controlled environment would cost more, was challenged by the following letter: Lou Albright and I each noted the comment you made in your report of the ‘Town Hall Spinach Meeting’ and wanted to respond. The issue is the implied excessively high cost of greenhouse spinach production. It is clearly the objective of CEA technologies to improve production efficiency, along with lowered costs, and be competitive with field-grown products, i.e., delivered cost per pound to be similar in each case. CEA does have high costs per acre but production is substantially higher. For example, a CEA production facility can produce 400 to 500 tons/acre/yr of Boston lettuce, even here in upstate New York. This is approximately twenty times the productivity of lettuce fields in Salinas, for example. In our small-scale trials, it appears spinach will be even more productive. The technology uses a lot of energy, however, as does a product grown in California, shipped on refrigerated trucks, and sold on the East coast. We hope to complete a study this winter to examine that comparison in detail. Our research is continuing to reduce energy use and increase production per acre. It is very impressive to see what can be done to reduce energy use, improve handling and still have plants grow at optimized rates. Optimized use of CO2, for example, can reduce supplemental lighting needs by half during the dark winter months of our NE winters. Some intangible assets of CEA technologies are: 1) same amount of product is harvested every day of the year, which is a real benefit for growers and marketers, 2) HACCP protocols can be easily implemented during the growing phase, 3) production can be any place in the US, thereby, located close to the market reducing transportation costs and shortening the time from harvest to purchase by the consumer, 4) product does not have to be washed before packaging, thereby improving quality and life of the product, 5) no environmental discharges or potential groundwater pollution, 6) an ability to manipulate the root environment, leading to greens with no nitrates, for example, and reduced oxalate in the case of spinach, 7) more readily implemented biological controls for pests and insects, and 8) year-round employment stability for workers. We truly feel CEA technology will be a major player in production of many perishable vegetable crops. The products are safer, can be fresher and grown without need for pesticides. The system uses water very efficiently, and facilities can be located close to markets. If you are ever in the area we would love to show you our research program and you can visit a commercial CEA production facility. Robert Langhans Professor Emeritus Cornell University
Still, it is a very important area of research with the potential to change the world. This month, Bryan Silbermann of PMA and I had an exchange in PRODUCE BUSINESS based on the report issued by a PMA task force established to deal with the terrible problems the industry is experiencing with transportation. It is not uncommon for peak season loads to cost more in trucking than the fruit costs. If we could raise things productively in greenhouses, we could put them in the South Bronx and save the trucking. In fact we tried it. Gary Waldron, an IBM executive on loan to a non-profit, started Glie Farms, which got praised by everyone, featured in a movie with Lynn Redgrave… and went broke. The problem with this area is that, long term, it seems likely, if not inevitable but, short- and medium-term, the high cost of energy keeps killing projects unless they can get a premium in the marketplace. That is why, though we were excited to point everyone to The Vertical Farm Project, we weren’t 100% sure if we are showing people the future or science fiction. But the Pundit will go check out the facility for Finger Lakes Fresh in Ithaca and will report back on what we see. Botulism And Carrot Juice Summary IX We’ve been asked to make available in one place our coverage of the recall by Wm. Bolthouse Farms of certain 100% carrot juice products and the broader implications of this issue for food safety. This piece is updated regularly and will be re-run to include new coverage of this outbreak and issue. We initiated our coverage on October 2, 1006, by publishing the FDA notice to consumers warning them not to drink the product, and we inquired as to the margin of safety on the product. You can find the piece, entitled Oh No! Another Outbreak, right here. On October 4, 2006, we published Bolthouse And Juice Refrigeration, which analyzed the proper standard of refrigeration for vulnerable products and the ability of both the trade and consumers to maintain that cold chain. Read it here. October 5, 2006, we ran Botulism III, which detailed the 12 steps in the distribution chain that the industry needs functioning properly in order to maintain the cold chain. The piece challenged retailers to evaluate the integrity of their own cold chain. You can find the piece here. In The Botulism And E. coli Connection, which we ran on October 6, 2006, we noted similarities between the botulism outbreak on certain Bolthouse carrot juice and the spinach/E. coli outbreak. The piece is right here. On October 10, 2006, we noted, in Bolthouse Botulism Case Hits Canada, that two Canadians were now victims of this botulism case and noted that it was an unusual cluster to occur at one time if the problem was solely temperature abuse by customers. You can catch it here. October 11, 2006, we ran Carrot Juice Still On Canadian Shelves, we noted that Canadians were getting upset over the inability of Canada’s public health authorities to execute a simple product recall and that the frequency of recalls was raising questions over the safety of California produce. Read it right here. On October 13, 2006, we ran Lobbying For Better Refrigeration urging industry lobbyists to work on legislation to make sure consumers have the tools they need to keep product safe at home. The article is here. October 18, 2006, we ran a Pundit’s Mailbag -- Thermometers In Refrigerators, disagreeing with our urging of legislation regarding thermostats and refrigeration. You can read the piece here. The Pundit originally ran the Pundit Rewind on September 21, 2006. We continuously update it in order to keep everyone organized with respect to reference material on this subject, we have updated it with new items and run it again today. Spinach Crisis Summary With so much having been written in so short a time, thought it would be helpful to publish a sort of round-up of available material to help people understand the whole situation regarding spinach and this E. coli breakout: The Perishable Pundit itself has dealt extensively with the subject in several major pieces. On September 15, 2006, we published Spinach Recall Reveals Serious Industry Problems, which addressed the implications of this crisis for the fresh-cut industry. You can read the piece here. On September 18, 2006, we published Organic Dodges a Bullet, which deals with the implications of the outbreak for the future of organic farming. You can find this piece here. Also on September 18, 2006, we ran a piece called Ramifications and Reflections on the Spinach Recall, which provided our first 10-point analysis of the situation. You can read it here. September 19, 2006, we asked Is FDA’s Concern Now an Obsession? — a piece in which we assessed whether a national recommendation to not eat spinach made any sense. You can review this here. On September 20, 2006, we noted 10 Peculiarities about the E. coli Outbreak and reviewed why certain aspects of the situation are unlike past food-safety challenges and other unanswered questions regarding the outbreak. Read this one right here. Also on September 20, 2006, we did our third 10-point list, calling this one “Spinach Recall Begs for Solutions”, where we reviewed how the trade can deal with this issue for the future, including looking at the meat industry, the prospect of universal testing and the use of RFID and GTIN. You can read all this here. On September 21, 2006, we asked Is FDA Causing Long-term Damage? Here we posed the question of whether punishing the innocent and the guilty alike doesn’t reduce incentives to invest in food safety. You can read this piece right here. The September 25, 2006 edition of the Pundit includes our fourth 10-point list entitled Though Not ‘All-Clear’, Consumers Can Eat Spinach Again, which reviewed many issues facing the industry as spinach begins to reenter the market, including the FDA’s announcement, PMA consumer research, the behavior of industry association, battles over fresh-cuts and organics, the reintroduction of Salinas Valley production, the FDA’s capabilities, and more. You can read this piece here. Also on September 25, 2006, we reviewed The Role of Retailers And The Future Of Food Safety, which pointed out that buyers have an important role in insuring food safety. Catch this piece here. Additionally, on September 25, 2006, we ran the Pundit’s Pulse Of The Industry in which a panel of retail pundits gave us insight into the way the spinach issue played in store and with consumers. You can read it here. The Pundit on September 26, 2006, included an articled entitled The California Department of Health Services Owes People An Explanation in which the question was raised whether certain parties received preferential treatment in the current spinach/E. coli outbreak. Read it right here. Also on September 26, 2006, we did a piece questioning the efficacy of our trace-back systems. The piece was titled More Recalls Trickle In, and you can read it here. On September 27, 2006, the Pundit analyzed the bad publicity that the Salinas Valley has received and asked Is Salinas Getting A Bum Rap On Food Safety? The piece can be read right here. September 28, 2006, the Pundit included a piece entitled Call For Stronger FDA that analyzed the demand of some in the food industry for beefing up the FDA and its budget within the context of the spinach/E. coli situation. You can read it here. On September 29, 2006 we did a piece called Lies, Damned Lies And Statistics that explored the contradiction of modern life that has led things to seem less safe, even as they are actually safer. Read the piece here. October 2, 2006 we ran The FDA Needs to Reexamine Its Methodology, inquiring why it was necessary to shut down a whole industry when, as far as we know, it was only Dole brand bagged spinach that was implicated? Read it here. Also on October 2, 2006, in a piece called Needless Recalls, we examined how even if many of the recalls were unnecessary, the recalls revealed big flaws in the trade’s traceback systems. You can find the piece here. Another piece October 2, 2006, entitled Deconstructing FDA, analyzed the FDA’s statement regarding the end of the spinach crisis. The piece is right here. The Pundit also ran a piece entitled Action Plan to Regain Consumer Confidence that both discussed the industry plan and proposed an alternative plan. Read about it here. Also on October 2, 2006, we did a piece called Collateral Damage vs. Assumption of the Risk, which analyzed some of the liability issues surrounding the outbreak. You can find the piece here. Additionally, on October 2, 2006, we published the second in our series of Pundit’s Pulse Of The Industry. This one including insight from Bob Edgell of Balls Foods and Ron McCormick of Wal-Mart, regarding reaction at retail as spinach outside California became available. Read it here. On October 4, 2006, the Pundit ran a piece entitled In Defense of Salinas, in which, based on a discussion with a Salinas farmer, we outlined five points you need to understand about the relationship between the Salinas Valley and this outbreak. You can find it here. Also on October 4, 2006, we published Notes On Natural Selection: It Could Happen To You, which discussed the new food safety plan revealed by Natural Selection Foods and discussed the necessity of product testing. Read it here. October 5, 2006, we analyzed the implications of the FBI raid in Salinas with Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water… You can read the piece here. We also explained on October 5, 2006, the involvement of Growers Express in the FBI raid in a piece entitled Bailando Juntos (Dancing Together), which you can find right here. What’s more, we discussed on October 5, 2006, why Canada is still banning U.S. spinach and what that implies about relations between the FDA and CFIA. The piece is called U.S. Spinach Still Banned in Canada, and you can read it here. On October 6, 2006, the Pundit pointed out the importance of considering the human costs of our actions in A Look At The Faces, which you can read here. Also on October 6, 2006, we analyzed how increased use of a federal network was bound to mean the recording of more frequent food safety outlets in a piece entitled PulseNet Ups Ante In Food Safety Battle, which can be read right here. Although not strictly speaking spinach-related, when one company voluntarily recalled certain green leaf lettuce, it was a decision affected by the overall environment caused by the spinach/E. coli situation. In Nunes Recall Reveals Testing Dilemma, published on October 10, 2006, we analyzed how stricter standards may lead to more frequent recalls. Catch the piece here. October 11, 2006 we pointed out that the Center for Disease Control was beginning to see fresh-cut in a whole new light. You can read CDC’s Aha! Moment right here. Also on October 11, 2006, we offered Heads Up — Political Posturing On Spinach Begins, pointing out that the a State Senator in California was going to start some hearings. Read the piece here. On October 12, 2006, in PulseNet Asleep At The Wheel, we detailed that the nation’s food safety bulletin board likes to take off on weekends. Read this astounding piece here. Dangerous E. coli Found On One Ranch ran on October 13, 2006, and points out that this finding doesn’t tell us much. Read it here. Also on October 13, 2006, we ran Fast Testing For Pathogens Necessary, which pointed out that product testing is bound to happen and discussed options and obstacles. You can read it here. October 18, 2006 the Pundit ran a piece in which PulseNet Explains Why It Doesn’t Work Weekends. You can find the piece here. On October 19, 2006, the piece Pundit’s Mailbag — Greenhouses and Vertical Farming explores the potential of greenhouse and hydroponic growing in the light of the spinach/E. coli crisis. The article also explores the potential for vertical farms in urban neighborhoods. Read it here. On October 24, 2006, we published Town Hall Spinach Meeting: Unanswered Questions, in which we analyzed what we learned and what was still a mystery after attending a Town Hall Meeting on the spinach crisis at the PMA Convention in San Diego. You can find this piece here. IMPLICATIONS OF THE CRISIS In addition, the Pundit has done several smaller pieces that touched on various aspects of this crisis. On September 18, 2006, we raised the issue of whether food safety outbreaks such as this raise long-term issues about the viability of cartoon character tie-ins in Who Has Marketing Fortitude? You can read about it here. Also on September 18, 2006, we wrote Fit To Be Tied, which dealt with the way some companies have little sense of decency when it comes to marketing their products in the midst of a crisis. You can read this one right here. Additionally on September 18, 2006, our Pundit’s Mailbag focused on letters received by United President/CEO Tom Stenzel and incoming Chairman Emanuel Lazopoulos of Del Monte Fresh, which dealt with the confluence of United’s Board Meeting and the spinach crisis as well as issues of industry leadership. You can find this one here. On September 19, 2006, we noted that there might be a Greenhouse Opportunity in all this. Read this here. Also on September 19, 2006, we noted that, though fruits and vegetables are healthy, fresh produce is not necessarily the best choice for those with a compromised immune system. The piece is called Marketing Nightmare and you can find it right here. On September 21, 2006, we did a piece called Wal-Mart Deli/Bakery Has Crisis Of Its Own that draws a link between the difficulty of preventing a Salmonella outbreak at one store with the difficulty of preventing an E. coli outbreak on an industry-wide basis. You can read this piece here. On September 25, 2006, the Pundit noted Another Oddity In Spinach Crisis and raised the question whether some or all of the product being marketed as conventional might not be organic. Read it right here. Also on September 25, 2006, we ran a Pundit’s Mailbag which dealt both with the utility of loyalty card programs and with the nature of large, multi-line fresh-cut packing facilities. You can read this one right here. Also we did a short piece on what change was actually necessary if consumers were to be reassured of the safety of spinach. Read it here. On September 26, 2006, we discussed the issue of recalls and how insurance plays into that. You can read this here. Also had an unrelated piece on Wegmans that included a video clip on how consumer media is dealing with the reintroduction of spinach. You can catch it here. Additionally on September 26, 2006, we ran a Pundit’s Mailbag exploring the causes of the outbreak. You can read this piece here. September 27, 2006, we focused on a piece in the Washington Post that helps us in Putting Things In Perspective. How does the Spinach/E. coli outbreak relate to the total numbers that get sick and die each year from foodborne illness? You can read it right here. On September 28, 2006, we published a terrific Pundit’s Mailbag exploring the frustration the buy side felt in dealing with the spinach/E. coli situation. Read it here. October 2, 2006, we had some Questions For Western Growers that asked how far the WGA was willing to go to make sure foreign growers meet the same standards as Salinas area farmers. Read about it here. We also asked How Committed Is The Produce Industry To Broad/National Food Safety Program. You can read the piece here. In addition, on October 2, we ran pundit’s Mailbag: Another Despicable Marketing Attempt that pointed out how a seed company was taking advantage of the situation and, possibly, leading to harm, by pushing its products. Read about it here. On October 4, 2006, we ran a piece entitled Primary And Secondary Suppliers, which details how this food safety crisis has to impact retail vendor selection. Catch it right here. Also on October 4, 2006, we discussed how to help innocent spinach farmers who were victimized by this crisis in Everyone Needs to Do A Little Bit. The Pundit pledged to do its own bit. Read it right here. October 5, 2006, we ran a piece focused on another outbreak of foodborne illness — in this case, botulism in carrot juice. The focus, however, was on the necessity to change attitudes as the produce industry becomes less a packing industry and more a processing industry. It is called Botulism III, and you can read it here. On October 6, 2006 we pointed out The Botulism And E. coli Connection where we explained that our focus on pathogens at the product source, though important, is insufficient. Read it here. Also on October 6, 2006 we ran Pundit’s Mailbag: What Are The feds Up To? This answered a reader’s letter inquiring as to whether the FBI being in Salinas implied industry members weren’t cooperating. You can find this item here. Food Safety, Good Delivery And Temperature Monitoring was published on October 10, 2006, and pointed out that old temperature recording devices have to be superseded by new temperature monitoring technology on all trucking of vulnerable products. Catch the piece here. On October 11, 2006, we ran a piece that grew out of the decision of Publix to stop giving some perishables away because of food safety concerns it is called Culture of Risk-Aversion Hurts the Poor and you can read it here. Nunes Tests Negative on October 13, 2006, raises the question of the appropriateness of recalls for generic E. coli in irrigation water. Read it here. Also on October 13, 2006, we ran Lobbying For Better Refrigeration, which pointed out that consumers are not given the tools needed to be vigilant at home. Find it here. In addition on October 13, 2006, we published PulseNet Redux pointing out, once again, that this outbreak could have been caught earlier had the government not taken off for the weekend. Read it here. Also on October 13, 2006 we ran a Pundit’s Mailbag — Population Inured by Recalls? This piece raised the possibility that frequent recalls, with no subsequent illness, would rebound to the benefit of the trade. Please read it here. On October 17, 2006, we ran Will Hydroponics Be A Solution To Spinach Woes? and analyzed the potential of hydroponics to head off future outbreaks. Read it here. October 18, 2006, we had a Pundit’s Mailbag — Thermometers In Refrigerators, in which the Pundit was challenged for urging excessive governmental interference. You can find it right here. October 20, 2006, we had two pieces related to the Nunes recall on Green Leaf lettuce. First, in a piece entitled Closure For Nunes, we detailed that the product had been declared clean by the FDA. You can read it here. Second, we had a piece entitled Partial Closure In Mexico, which explained that Mexico had decided to allow the import of U.S. lettuce but not spinach. You can find the piece right here. Several additional pieces appear in the Perishable Pundit today, and they will be incorporated into future iterations of this Spinach Crisis Summary. RESOURCES In addition to our own work, there are many excellent sources of information out there that do not require payment, membership or registration. Three of the Pundit’s favorites: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has offered daily information on the crisis right here. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention deal with the outbreak here. The Produce Marketing Association has maintained an excellent industry resource on the subject right here. Please feel free to write or call if you are looking for specific information not included here. Note that many of the articles and websites have links to other resources. |
