Safe Leafy Greens, Tomatoes, and Melons

Uh oh... (4.00 / 1)

The guidances are, in part, based on those originally developed by the produce industry with assistance from FDA.

Here's hoping they aren't something like "bugs are icky, and dirt is dirty!"...

:/

"The essence of the independent mind lies not in what it thinks, but in how it thinks." - Christopher Hitchens

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by: JayinPortland @ Sat Aug 01, 2009 at 07:47:48 AM UTC

That's exactly what they are (4.00 / 2)

they talk about whether workers should pick produce with bare hands or gloves, should the glove be disposable there are guidances for that, if the gloves are reusable there are guidances for sanitizing the gloves, etc. I just skimmed the guidances for leafy greens yesterday, but I have the main FDA page bookmarked so I can read the guidances in more detail over the next few days.

It essentially looks as if the guidances were written by someone who thinks the great outdoors or even a greenhouse can be managed like a BSL4 lab. It also has convinced me that selling into the wholesale production system is something I never want to do. I'll stay with direct to consumer retail sales and keep transparent with my farming practices.

If FDA ever does decide to make these guidances mandatory for farmers, I'm going to tell them to take a long walk off a short pier, and that's putting things politely.....

Regarding locavores as elitists - explain to me how supporting local business is elitist....

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by: Joanne Rigutto @ Sat Aug 01, 2009 at 15:03:58 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Have they ever been to a farm? (4.00 / 1)

and, ya know, seen the dirt?! Or with our massive amounts of rain this year, the MUD!!

Maybe they can just install had sanitizers at the end of the rows . . .  

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by: nycstray @ Sat Aug 01, 2009 at 17:27:51 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Food safety (4.00 / 1)

As a farmer whose farm was destroyed by Salmonella and E. coli contaminated runoff from a sludge site, I can say that new food safety laws will not solve the problem. There are some who think this is a simply issue of sludge dumped on agricultural land as a fertilizer without the science to prove it is safe. Yet, over 60 organizations have petitioned EPA (2003) and Congress (2008) to stop sludge dumping to no avail.  This is not just a farmers problem or their neighbors. This is a political issue that effects everyone who eats food or drinks water. A 1982 EPA study shows antibiotic resistant bacteria are created in wastewater treatment plants and dumped on agricultural land. Runoff from agricultural land is picked up by drinking water treatment plants where more antibiotic resistant bacteria are created. This has been confirmed by more recent studies. EPA does not require testing for E. coli 0157:H7, Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and antibiotic resistance genes or Vancomycin resistant enterococci (VRE) that have been found in sewage sludge. These are not part of the fecal coliform test which only looks for one type of thermotolerant E. coli. Thermotolerant E. coli are mutants that grow at elevated temperatures of 112.1 degrees F. Most pathogenic bacteria and viruses grow best at 97-98 degree F. These are the ones that get into our food and drinking water. These are also implicated in the top 15 causes of death. Asks your friends to sign the petition.

Please sign petition - click on link
http://www.thepetitionsite.com...

Stop Recycling Sewage Effluents on Food Crops, Etc.

Target: President Obama, EPA, USDA, FDA
Sponsored by: Jim Bynum, VP, Help for Sewage Victims (started almost 20 years ago by farmers)
Click on bold highlighted words for more information.

Click on bold highlighted words for more information.

Help for Sewage Victims was founded by farmers almost 20 years ago to gather factual data on EPA's sewage sludge disposal policy. It has found: 1) Sewage pollutants may be implicated in the 15 leading causes of deaths; and 2) New food protection laws can not alleviate foodborne illnesses or other infectious diseases caused by the use of sewage effluents (sludge and water) on agricultural land.  Congress made it very clear in 1976 that  infectious characteristics of waste which may--
(A) cause, or significantly contribute to an increase in mortality or an increase in serious irreversible, or incapacitating reversible, illness; or
(B) pose a substantial present or potential hazard to human health or the environment when improperly treated, stored, transported, or disposed of, or otherwise managed is a hazardous waste.

Yet, the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW), chaired by Senator Barbara Boxer abruptly canceled scheduled Hearings on sludge contamination problems September 11, 2008. The government stopped counting foodborne illnesses after the total reached  81 million case (GAO)in 1997. That was up from 2 million foodborne illnesses in 1986. In 1998 CDC estimated there were 360 million cases of acute diarrhea, most from unknown sources. The most serious documented illness increase was for MRSA hospital stays, 368,300 in 2005 with 19,000 deaths. That was up from 1,900 hospital stays in 1993 when EPA and its partners started promoting the disposal of pathogen contaminated sewage effluents as organic fertilizer on agricultural land, parks, school grounds as well as home lawns and gardens.

Since 1980, EPA, USDA and FDA have promoted a national agency policy to disposed of the chemical and antibiotic resistant disease ladened contaminated sewage effluent (sludge) as a fertilizer and semi-treated sewage effluent as reclaimed water for irrigation. The orginal policy was based on the consensus that "there are not many people out there to be harmed." Current sewage treatment policies do not require testing for or the removal of all pathogens. The results of EPA's 1993 policy (40 CFR 503 ) to dispose of contaminated sewage effluents  on cattle pastureland, land used for food crops, forest land, parks, school grounds, as well as home lawns and gardens have been a dramatic increase in "food" contamination incidents and illnesses such as MRSA with associated deaths as well as other pandemics. This Agency policy is in direct conflict with the laws of our land enacted to protect public health and the environment.

Recycling sewage effluents under the current policies places the national economy and public health at risk from pathogen contaminated food, water and air. The fate of public health and the economy is based on the renamed hundred and five year old Eijkman (fecal coliform) test procedure for one type of gram negative thermotolerant E. coli. The test does not reveal  E. coli 0157 which does not ferment lactose.  Most other enteric gram negative soil, water, and fecal disease causing bacteria (coliform - Salmonella, Shigella, etc.) in humans become dormant at the elevated fecal coliform test temperature. EPA does not require testing for any other pathogens (bacteria - viruses - fungus - parasites - worms) in sewage effluent, food or water.

EPA acknowledges in Part 503.9(t) that other inorganic, synthetic organic and volatile organic compounds in sewage effluents could also cause death, cancer, disease etc. upon exposure through the air, food or water. However, they do not cause pandemics. These chemicals may take up to 20 years or longer to cause illness and death.

For these reasons, recycling sewage effluents on food crops, etc., especially when they are labeled organic soil amendments must be stopped.

More information can be found at:
http://thewatchers.us/
http://deadlydeceit.com/
http://sludgevictims.com/
http://list.web.net/lists/list...
http://www.sludgefacts.org/IJO...
http://sludgefacts.org/
http://sludgenews.org/
http://www.prwatch.org/tsigfy....
http://cwmi.css.cornell.edu/Sl...
http://cwmi.css.cornell.edu/Sl...
http://sewagesludgeactionnetwo...
http://www.centerforfoodsafety...
http://www.organicconsumers.or...
http://www.loudounnats.org/
http://www.iatp.org/foodandhea...
http://www.ejnet.org/sludge/
http://www.olympus.net/communi...
http://www.something-stinks.com/

Please sign petition -- click on link -- Sometimes it is slow to upload your post. Please verify post.
http://www.thepetitionsite.com...

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by: JimBynum @ Sun Aug 02, 2009 at 13:25:22 PM UTC