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Opinion
A scandalous statement made today by Western Growers violates the extremely responsible decision taken yesterday by the fruit and vegetable industry to call for an immediate and voluntary national recall of all Roman lettuce to what the source of contamination is fueling a new international outbreak of E. Coli be determined.
Western producers also seem to be speaking on both sides of the mouth because he was one of the signatories of the open letter to the public yesterday. The head of the Irvine Group in California today has a very different message.
"… It is important to recognize that a number of areas of current production do not harvest or ship Roman at the beginning of the epidemic and that, therefore, they could not be the source of the specific strain of E. Coli identified in diseases. In light of this evidence, we urge government health agencies to work with stakeholders to quickly reduce the scope of the investigation and to remove these areas from the full notice as soon as the safety of the Public will be assured, "Tom Nassif, president and CEO of Western Growers, said today in a press release.
The content and tone of the Nassif statement is read as a reprint of the deadly head-in-the-sand reading book used by Roman industry earlier this year in an outbreak of E. Coli who finally killed at least 210 people, killing five people.
In April, when government officials reported for the first time the epidemic linked to Roman culture in the Yuma region, Arizona, virtually everyone, in the green vegetable industry and Commodities, said that there was no permanent threat because the harvest in the area was over. This turned out not to be true. The area was being shipped until the end of April, although it was already past its peak. Producers and processors continued to ship and people continued to fall ill.
If the fruit and vegetable industry had done what it called yesterday in the spring and put an end to the flow of romaine to consumers, retailers and restaurants, there would have been fewer people infected.
But the Western Growers organization – which was founded in 1926 and represents producers in Arizona, California, Colorado, and New Mexico – has not put people before a few cents last spring. Other groups of green and green vegetable producers were not doing this either. They all engaged in the blame game by saying that everyone, from Mother Nature to consumers, was involved in the epidemic.
The industry's call for action yesterday can not reverse the symptoms of already infected patients during the new outbreak, but it will certainly help prevent other diseases.
Western producers do not seem very interested in containing the epidemic, although, despite Nassif's obsolete homage to this fall's victims, "Our hearts go out to the individuals and families affected by the E epidemic. . Coli tied to the Roman … »
The group, which claimed to "produce half of the country's fresh fruits, vegetables and nuts, including half of America's fresh organic produce," also blamed the government today.
"… We urge the government's health agencies to work with stakeholders to quickly reduce the scope of the investigation and to remove these areas from the full notice once public safety is assured …", states the statement. Western Growers press.
If it were not tragic, it would be laughable.
One of the biggest, if not the most serious, challenges that the FDA and CDC faced during last spring's outbreak was the inability of the industry to provide complete and consistent shipping and receiving. Asking government agencies to "work quickly with stakeholders" so that unaffected businesses can return to earning money is an insult to government officials and taxpayers.
Following the Romaine all the way from the farm to the fork was virtually impossible at the beginning of the year and still is. There is no consistency in sending and receiving documentation. Many documents are still handwritten on paper forms and spiral notebooks. Records available in electronic format are not readily available and do not generally reflect the entire supply chain. Epidemic investigators spent thousands of hours in the spring trying to figure out what had happened to Romaine. When the CDC declared that the epidemic was over, it was still unknown who had grown, treated and distributed the Roman involved.
What does the government say?
I've checked with people at the Food and Drug Administration this afternoon on the progress of their traceback investigation. I was not surprised to receive an answer almost immediately. Some people might think that government employees do not work less than 24 hours before their Thanksgiving dinner, but they do.
FDA staff declined to specifically comment on Western Growers' statement. I respect that. There is no need for time or time for an exchange said to be said in situations like this. A spokesman for the agency however was able to provide information on the ongoing investigation.
"We are encouraged to see that many Roman producers and manufacturers have begun voluntarily withdrawing their Roman products from the market. Together, we can help reduce the risk of foodborne illness while continuing to identify the source. We thank our industry partners for supporting our warning consumers not to consume romaine lettuce yet. We will continue to work with them at. coli and ways to improve the traceability and safety of green leafy vegetables. We also welcome the support of the California and Arizona green leaf marketing agreements regarding our advice to voluntarily remove potentially contaminated Roman from the market, "said FDA Press Secretary Peter Cassell. . News on food security.
"Our investigation is ongoing and we are working closely with our federal partners to narrow the scope of this outbreak and locate specific locations from which the Roman involved is coming. We will provide updates as soon as we know more. We recognize that this is a general warning, but some lettuce packages are labeled so as not to clearly indicate where the product was grown. Our ultimate goal is consumer protection. And on entering a very food-centric vacation weekend, we felt that this advice was important to prevent other diseases. "
For the record – Western Growers Full Statement
IRVINE, Calif., (November 21, 2018) – In response to the recent Food Safety Alert issued by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the US Food and Drug Administration, linking an epidemic of E. Coli O157: H7 to Romaine lettuce, Western Growers President and CEO Tom Nassif issued the following statement:
"Our thoughts are with the individuals and families affected by the E & E epidemic. Roman-linked coli, and our Roman producers and managers cooperate fully with federal and state health agencies to identify the source of the contamination. The California and Arizona producers place the safety of their products above all else, and the producers and manipulators of romaine lettuce from these two states are subject to the most stringent food safety requirements throughout the world. country.
"In the meantime, it is important to recognize that a number of areas of current production do not harvest or ship Roman at the beginning of the epidemic and that, therefore, they could not be the first. source of the specific strain of E. Coli identified in diseases. . In light of this evidence, we urge government health agencies to work with stakeholders to rapidly reduce the scope of the investigation and remove these areas from the full notice as soon as public safety can be assured. . "
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