Role of Buyers and Government Debated at Food-Safety Meeting

SEATTLE — With the Food & Drug Administration reluctant to set national safety standards, big buyers and their risk-averse lawyers are driving food safety standards and demanding more microbiological testing and audits, according to produce consultant Devon Zagory of NSF Davis Fresh.

Speaking here April 11-12 at a meeting sponsored by the Seattle law firm Marler Clark, Mr. Zagory said that produce companies are in a bind because there are no national testing standards for fresh produce, washing does not eliminate all pathogens and negative tests do not necessarily prove a shipment is clean.

"We do have a problem with produce," said Mr. Zagory, senior vice president of NSF Davis Fresh's food-safety and quality programs. "Our domestic supply is the problem."

Mr. Zagory called for federal regulation to ensure that companies that do not invest in food-safety systems are weeded out and to clarify key standards on emerging issues such as testing requirements and the recommended proximity of growing fields to cattle ranches.

Without scientific data on risks, buyers are asking suppliers to eliminate anything that could present a risk, he said.

Costco refused to sell prepackaged spinach just days after the 2006 recall because "we needed to see changes in the industry," said Craig Wilson, vice president of food safety and quality assurance at Costco, who added that the retailer was the last company to sell bagged spinach.

Mr. Wilson said that Costco requires suppliers to test-and-hold products for microbial safety, and vendors have shipped everything with the exception of Costco products during past recalls. "Test and ship is a bad thing," he added.

While retailers protect themselves, farmers are being held responsible for outbreaks even though they are the least likely to pay out, said Bradley Sullivan, an attorney with Salinas-based Lombardo & Gilles LLP.

Read the full Produce News story here.