The Red Menace, Averted?

The tomato returned to Taco Bell and McDonald's after a week’s absence, despite the fact the FDA has been unable to locate the source of the recent salmonella outbreak. With 277 confirmed cases of the Saintpaul strain of salmonella caused by suspected roma varieties, are tomatoes safe to eat?

Yes-ish. The first case was reported April 10, by late May authorities became aware there was an outbreak. By the end of May, the authorities linked the illness to tomatoes. The last confirmed case was reported on June 1. The FDA issued its first warning about possible danger of food borne illness from roma tomatoes shortly after that.

Tomatoes have about 3 weeks from vine to compost. Between FDA warnings and shelf life, it is probable all the suspect tomatoes have been taken out of circulation at this point. The question of why health authorities have been unable to track down the location of the outbreak still lingers.

In 2006 e-coli infected spinach was tracked down in about 2 weeks. UPC codes, present on bags of spinach made it easy to zero in on the source of the outbreak quickly. Tomatoes are some the least labeled produce and use no such tracking codes. They are sold to customers by the pound in grocery stores and by the slice in restaurants. Tomatoes are ordered by the case from purveyors – with the additional bonus of a daily delivery might contain tomatoes from 2 or more sources.

Last week industry spokespeople projected $40 million dollars in lost revenues for the Florida tomato industry. This week, estimated losses have ballooned to a half billion dollars in immediate and future sales. If $40 million seemed inflated enough to make me suspicious, $500 million makes me wonder if there is a federal disaster bail out at a certain dollar point.

Even if the industry numbers are valid, are growers willing to spend a fraction of their current losses to help track shipments of produce better?

No-ish. Caroline Smith DeWaal, the food safety director at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, told the AP earlier this week, “The technology exists today that would allow for much better traceback of commodities like tomatoes, but it won't be used until the industry is required to by the government”.

Since the government has not exactly requited itself in this fiasco, it might seem reasonable not to expect much in the way of solutions or leadership from the federales. The FDA, who feel under-funded have requested an additional $125 million in their budget for food safety programs. McDonald's are Wal-Mart could require UPC codes and origin documentation and their sheer purchasing power would force growers and wholesalers to adapt standards quicker than a rule could be implemented or a law legislated.

How is that for frightening, that two corporations can be more responsive and responsible than the agency charged with protecting consumers?

The other option is the industry sets its own standards with 3rd party verification, but as we have seen with beef in Korea, giant agricultural entities would seemingly rather loose billions than spend millions to reassure its customers their product is safe.

Eat Local

An Ohio State University study has found that consumers are willing as up to twice as much for a locally produced food. The study, published in the American Journal of Agricultural Economics, also showed shoppers tend to favor food grown on small farms over food perceived to be grown by corporate operations.

The economy of scale could be a thing of the past as rising gas prices might dictate more local options in the future. Shipping costs have been quoted as high as $9,000 dollars to move a truck of food from the central valley in California to the east coast, it is entirely possible shoppers will not have to pay more for locally grown produce in the near future.

And speaking of local foods... Regionally, the Oregon berry crop is about 2 to 3 weeks behind schedule due to some, what I’d like to call inclement weather – except the problem has actually been it has been overly mild. I’m sure there is a word for that like uberclement or something. Funny how something I complain about every day can have an effect on something other than my occasionally sunny disposition.