Hollister
– Although consumers haven’t returned to their spinach-eating
ways since September’s E. coli outbreak, growers and handlers are
hopeful that a new state food safety certification program and
proposed federal legislation could help bring them back.
Hollister – Although consumers haven’t returned to their spinach-eating ways since September’s E. coli outbreak, growers and handlers are hopeful that a new state food safety certification program and proposed federal legislation could help bring them back.
U.S. Rep. Sam Farr, the Democrat who represents San Benito County and the rest of California’s 17th District in Congress, introduced a bill Thursday called the Spinach Research and Recovery Act, which would authorize $26 million for fresh produce safety research and fund emergency assistance to spinach growers and handlers still suffering financially from September’s E. coli outbreak.
On Wednesday, the California state Department of Food and Agriculture announced that it approved a food safety pact called the Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement. The marketing agreement would require handlers of fresh spinach and other leafy vegetables to voluntarily abide by safety guidelines designed to prevent food-borne illness.
The next step, said Richard Silva, vice president of the San Benito County Farm Bureau and a leafy green grower, would be a requirement that all California growers of leafy greens follow a high standard of safety practices.
“I’m very happy that the marketing agreement has gone through with 24 people signing up for it representing over 70 percent of the acreage,” Silva said.
Tim Chelling, vice president of communications for the Western Growers Association, said the marketing agreement was the “first salvo in our overall war on foodborne illness.”
“The marketing agreement was just the first in a series of actions at all levels to enhance food safety,” Chelling said.
Although consumer confidence is fragile, Chelling said the industry is doing all it can to assure the consumers of their products’ safety.
“In the long run you will have even better food safety standards,” Chelling said. “They were already good to begin with; they just weren’t good enough.”
And while growers and handlers improve their safety standards, Silva hopes Farr’s bill could provide the money to eliminate foodborne illness completely.
“A little bit of money can really go a long way in terms of research, development, so that way we can avoid any future outbreaks,” Silva said. “I think American ingenuity will really come into play here and we’re going to figure out an answer.”
Silva said the emergency funds would be a relief to many of the smaller growers who have had trouble weathering the market aftermath of September’s outbreak.
Little by little, consumer confidence in spinach will return, barring an additional outbreak, Silva said.
A survey released Monday by Rutgers University’s Food Policy Institute showed that almost half of Americans ate spinach before the outbreak. According to the survey, which was conducted in November, 44 percent of those who ate spinach before the outbreak had eaten spinach after the recall ended.
Jim Gibson, owner of the Hollister Super chain in San Benito County, said he has been surprised that consumer confidence in spinach has not returned in full.
“Spinach is still less than half of what it used to be as far as sales,” Gibson said. “People had really gotten into eating spinach. We were selling a lot of spinach.”
The recent freeze tripled prices of spinach, Gibson said. He said the increase in price may account for the delayed rebound.
But Silva and Gibson both said they believe consumers will return to spinach. Silva and other growers, continue to work on food safety solutions and are scheduling this year’s spinach crop.
“We’re not sitting back,” Silva said. “We’re already scheduling our acres that we will be growing here in the San Juan Valley. And as people drive by they will see baby spinach growing.”
Michael Van Cassell covers public safety for the Free Lance. He can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 335 or
mv*********@fr***********.com
.
