Sacramento
– Three bills designed to prevent E. coli contamination of
spinach and other leafy greens cleared a key legislative hurdle
Tuesday despite objections from farm groups.
Sacramento – Three bills designed to prevent E. coli contamination of spinach and other leafy greens cleared a key legislative hurdle Tuesday despite objections from farm groups.
The Senate Agriculture Committee approved three bills that would impose tougher standards on growers of spinach, lettuce, sprouts and similar crops by a 3-2 vote. Under the new laws, the state would have more power to respond to outbreaks of food-borne disease and would establish a process to more quickly trace outbreaks to their sources.
San Benito County Farm Bureau President George Bonacich said he favors growers coming up with their own safety practices in the form of a marketing order.
“I think the way the farmers are getting together and doing a marketing order is a better way to go,” Bonacich said.
The California Farm Bureau Federation and Western Growers Association said the bills are unnecessary because the industry is adopting new safety standards of its own.
Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, introduced the bills in response to the September 2006 E. coli outbreak in spinach and lettuce. The bills would give the state Department of Public Health the power to test irrigation water, soil and produce, as well as the authority to recall contaminated produce.
Sen. Jeff Denham, R-Merced, who represents San Benito County, called the three bills “half-baked.”
Denham favors funding research into food safety rather than “produce police,” his office said Wednesday.
To help clear the committee, Florez amended the bills to give the Department of Food and Agriculture a role in enforcing the new standards. Florez also removed provisions requiring farmers to obtain new licenses and pay fees for inspections.
Florez incorporated a safety program being developed by lettuce and spinach growers.
Staff report with contributions from the Associated Press.
