The Produce Marketing Association’s 2009 Fresh Summit International Convention & Exposition was held this year in Anaheim, California, ending Monday.
As founder and president of the Minneapolis food safety law firm, PritzkerOlsen, P.A., I was an invited guest speaker and panelist. The Produce Marketing Association (PMA) is the leading global trade association serving the entire produce and floral supply chains and this year’s “Fresh Summit” convention attracted almost 20,000 attendees.
I appeared at a program entitled “Food Safety: New Approaches for a New Economy” along with PMA’s Chief Science Officer, Bob Whitaker, Ph.D.
Citing data from the Produce Safety Project at Georgetown University, I noted that from 1990 through 2005, there were at least 713 foodborne illness outbreaks linked to produce. I challenged PMA members to invest heavily in food safety and food safety systems, or risk causing the next big outbreak. I also cautioned members that under existing product liability law, a food product will be deemed defective if it is found to be adulterated with any foodborne pathogen. I urged members to support mandatory federal safety and test standards and employ and strictly follow company-specific HACCP plans.
As an advocate for victims of food safety, our firm is often on the opposite side of the table from representatives of the fresh produce industry. Salmonella produce outbreaks and the spread of E. coli O157:H7 linked to lettuce, spinach, sprouts, tomatoes, peppers and other fresh produce are preventable, yet our network of growing, harvesting, packing and distributing these goods is still fraught with safety gaps.
One thing that an HUS E. coli lawyer should have in common with any grower or handler of fresh produce is the desire to reduce and ultimately eliminate harmful pathogens from our food.
