Page 28 - aruba-today-20181201

A28 SCIENCE
Saturday 1 december 2018

Repeat outbreaks pressure produce industry to step up safety

By CANDICE CHOI look for the amount of fe-
AP Food & Health Writer cal matter in water. The
NEW YORK (AP) — After re- problem is, "some feces has
peated food poisoning out- pathogens in it, some feces
breaks linked to romaine doesn't," said Bihn, who is
lettuce, the produce indus- part of a federal program
try is confronting the failure helping farmers comply
of its own safety measures with the new produce reg-
in preventing contamina- ulations.
tions. Testing for specific E. coli
The E. coli outbreak an- strains that are harm-
nounced just before ful is more difficult, and it
Thanksgiving follows one doesn't rule out the possibil-
in the spring that sickened ity of other harmful bacte-
more than 200 people and ria, Bihn said.
killed five, and another last CONTAINING
year that sickened 25 and Whole-genome sequenc-
killed one. No deaths have ing is making it easier to
been reported in the latest detect outbreaks, which is
outbreak, but the dozens of pressuring the produce in-
illnesses highlight the chal- dustry.
lenge of eliminating risk for The FDA warned against
vegetables grown in open In this Nov. 20, 2018 file photo, romaine lettuce sits on the shelves as a shopper walks through the all romaine last week be-
fields and eaten raw, the produce area of an Albertsons market in Simi Valley, Calif. cause it said it was able to
role of nearby cattle oper- Associated Press identify it as a likely source
ations that produce huge early enough. The agency
volumes of manure and prevent, catch and con- the new federal rules on at Consumer Reports, said narrowed its warning to
the delay of stricter federal tain contamination. produce safety. it's important to make wa- romaine from California's
food safety regulations. PREVENTION "They look to the industry to ter testing a federal re- Central Coast after the
A contested aspect of the It's not yet known how ro- determine what is the ap- quirement. Since romaine produce industry agreed to
regulation, for example, maine got contaminated propriate distance," Suslow is often chopped up and label romaine with harvest
would require testing irriga- in the latest outbreak. said. bagged, a single contami- dates and regions, so peo-
tion water for E. coli. The The spring outbreak was Growers in Yuma also start- nated batch from one farm ple know what's OK to eat.
Food and Drug Administra- traced to romaine from ed treating irrigation wa- that skips testing could The labeling is voluntary,
tion put the measure on Yuma, Arizona. Irrigation ter that would touch plant make a lot of people sick, and the industry said it will
hold when the produce water tainted with manure leaves with chlorine to kill he said. evaluate whether to ex-
industry said such tests was identified as a likely potential contaminants, Teressa Lopez of the Arizo- tend it to other leafy greens.
wouldn't necessarily help culprit, and investigators Suslow said. But he said na Leafy Greens Marketing Gottlieb said improving
prevent outbreaks. Addi- noted the presence of a such treatment raises con- Agreement also said fed- traceability would allow
tional regulations on sanita- large animal feeding op- cerns about soil and hu- eral regulation can ensure targeted health alerts that
tion for workers and equip- eration nearby. man health. greater compliance, even don't hurt the entire indus-
ment — other potential Subsequently, an industry Meanwhile, the proximity though the industry agree- try. The FDA recently hired
sources of contamination agreement in Arizona and of produce fields to cattle ment has stricter measures. a former Walmart execu-
— only recently started be- California was adjusted to operations is likely to con- Despite industry measures tive who used blockchain
ing implemented. expand buffer zones be- tinue posing a problem. implemented after a spin- technology to improve
FDA Commissioner Scott tween vegetable fields and Travis Forgues of the milk ach outbreak more than traceability in the retailer's
Gottlieb said he thinks the livestock. The industry says producer Organic Valley a decade ago, health of- supply chain.
combination of rules, once the change was in place for noted consolidation in the ficials noted this month Stephen Basore, director
fully in place, will make lettuce now being grown in dairy industry is leading to there have been 28 E. coli of food safety at a Florida
vegetables safer to eat. Yuma, which hasn't been bigger livestock operations outbreaks linked to leafy romaine grower, said he
"I don't think any one ele- implicated in the latest out- that produce massive vol- greens since 2009. expects more regulations
ment of this is going to be break. But Trevor Suslow umes of manure. The produce industry says and self-imposed industry
the magic bullet," Gottlieb of the Produce Marketing TESTING the failure to prevent the guidelines.
said. Association said there isn't Already, the industry agree- Yuma outbreak could also "Anytime there is an issue,
Health officials say im- consensus about the exact ment in Arizona and Cali- reflect the limitations of the immediate response is
proved detection may distances that might effec- fornia requires leafy green testing water for generic E. saying our protocols aren't
make outbreaks seem tively prevent contamina- growers to test water for coli. enough," he said.q
more frequent. Still, that tion. generic E. coli. Elizabeth Bihn, a food sci-
is intensifying pressure on He noted specific buffer But James Rogers, direc- ence expert at Cornell
growers and regulators to zones aren't required by tor of food safety research University, said the tests

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