Oct 2006
Wake up and smell the carrot juice
Luisa Cheshire
They say there’s no such thing as bad publicity. But when E.coli in spinach hit the headlines in September, it dealt a heavy blow to the US bagged salads sector.
The FDA has since traced the source of the unprecedented nationwide outbreak that first struck in August to one farm in California (see news page 4). But the damage to the entire industry has been done.
When the federal health agency banned all US shipments as the number of E.coli cases spread, the spinach trade ground to a halt. Retailers and restaurateurs pulled all spinach products from their outlets, and consumer alarm escalated as one death was reported and the number of cases rose to the present 192 across 26 US states and Canada.
As Americafruit went to press, the FBI had been called in to assist FDA investigations into the cause of the outbreak. However, all fresh spinach packs – bar those supplied by Natural Selection Foods – had been released back onto the market. But will sales ever recover?
The recently-formed trade body United Fresh says it could be some time before the financial implications of the crisis can be fully measured. But even they think it could take a while for consumers to regain trust in the product.
E.coli spinach, and now botulism in carrot juice (see news page 4), are certainly not the kind of labels with which the produce industry wants to be branded. The spinach debacle has given rise to government calls for greater industry regulation to prevent a similar outbreak ever happening again – a move that all produce trade associations have welcomed.
But, even with more rigorous standards and reams of red tape, can any food produced on an industrial scale ever be 100 per cent safe to eat? We’ve witnessed the appalling effects of mass production in the UK meat industry with the devastating BSE and foot-and-mouth outbreaks. Are fruits and vegetables heading the same way?
In any event, these latest food scares will act as a wake-up call for the whole fresh produce trade. Companies must face the uncomfortable truth that potentially lethal bugs can penetrate even the most high-tech operations, so there is no room for complacency.
Traceability and hygiene issues typically feature prominently at international produce trade events. It’s my guess the E.coli spinach crisis will dominate discussions at October’s PMA Fresh Summit in San Diego both on and off the trade floor. One thing is for certain, though: when it comes to 100 per cent guarantees in food safety, the industry should never assume it’s in the bag.
They say there’s no such thing as bad publicity. But when E.coli in spinach hit the headlines in September, it dealt a heavy blow to the US bagged salads sector.
The FDA has since traced the source of the unprecedented nationwide outbreak that first struck in August to one farm in California (see news page 4). But the damage to the entire industry has been done.
When the federal health agency banned all US shipments as the number of E.coli cases spread, the spinach trade ground to a halt. Retailers and restaurateurs pulled all spinach products from their outlets, and consumer alarm escalated as one death was reported and the number of cases rose to the present 192 across 26 US states and Canada.
As Americafruit went to press, the FBI had been called in to assist FDA investigations into the cause of the outbreak. However, all fresh spinach packs – bar those supplied by Natural Selection Foods – had been released back onto the market. But will sales ever recover?
The recently-formed trade body United Fresh says it could be some time before the financial implications of the crisis can be fully measured. But even they think it could take a while for consumers to regain trust in the product.
E.coli spinach, and now botulism in carrot juice (see news page 4), are certainly not the kind of labels with which the produce industry wants to be branded. The spinach debacle has given rise to government calls for greater industry regulation to prevent a similar outbreak ever happening again – a move that all produce trade associations have welcomed.
But, even with more rigorous standards and reams of red tape, can any food produced on an industrial scale ever be 100 per cent safe to eat? We’ve witnessed the appalling effects of mass production in the UK meat industry with the devastating BSE and foot-and-mouth outbreaks. Are fruits and vegetables heading the same way?
In any event, these latest food scares will act as a wake-up call for the whole fresh produce trade. Companies must face the uncomfortable truth that potentially lethal bugs can penetrate even the most high-tech operations, so there is no room for complacency.
Traceability and hygiene issues typically feature prominently at international produce trade events. It’s my guess the E.coli spinach crisis will dominate discussions at October’s PMA Fresh Summit in San Diego both on and off the trade floor. One thing is for certain, though: when it comes to 100 per cent guarantees in food safety, the industry should never assume it’s in the bag.
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