Produce shippers: Food safety bill ?bittersweet?

Produce shippers: Food safety bill æbittersweetÆ    The U.S. House’s passage Wednesday of the Senate food safety bill as part of a continuing resolution leaves a “bittersweet” taste in the mouth of the nation’s fruit and vegetable shippers.
   While the produce industry — led largely by United Fresh and the Produce Marketing Association — generally supported Senate bill S.510’s provisions to boost the Food and Drug Administration’s food safety oversight, it vehemently opposed an amendment added by Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., exempting some producers and processors based on size of business, geographic location or to whom they sell their products.
   “The statutory enactment of non-science-based exemptions would limit FDA's ability to assure consumers that all foods they purchase, whether at grocery stores, restaurants, farm markets, or elsewhere, have met the same food safety standards,” said Robert Guenther, United Fresh’s senior vice president, in a statement. “We fear that this profound error will come back to haunt the Congress, public health agencies, consumers and even those who thought they would benefit from food safety exemptions.”
   The trade groups support S.510’s provisions to implement preventive controls for production and processing of specific fruits and vegetables when shown necessary by a risk-based, scientific analysis by FDA.
   While the food safety bill will do much good, it is highly regrettable that the House leadership failed to exercise its responsibility to engage with the Senate in a conference to fix these provisions,” Guenther said.
   “For all of us who have worked long and hard to pass food safety reform, this is a bittersweet moment, with a job only partially done,” he added. “As we look ahead, we will continue to voice our strong support for uniform, risk-based food safety standards, whether in the remaining days of this Congress, or in the new Congress convening in January.”