Opinion: Facing Up To Food Safety
August 8, 2013 
With so much minutiae contained in the many pages of the Food Safety Modernization Act it’s easy to forget that food safety has a face — many faces, really — and they are more important than any regulation.
The people behind some of those faces visited the Central Coast of California earlier this summer. Members of a non-profit group called STOP Foodborne Illness visited farms and processing facilities located in leafy greens-producing areas near San Luis Obispo and Santa Maria. STOP Foodborne Illness was incorporated in the wake of the tragic 1992 E. Coli outbreak at the fast food chain Jack In The Box in which four preschool-age children would die.
Some of those from STOP Foodborne Illness were sickened in another E. Coli outbreak, one that would change the produce industry, as three people died after consuming E. Coli-contaminated spinach in 2006. Out of that tragedy came another food safety group, the California Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement (LGMA). LGMA has been in place since 2007 to verify through government audit that a set of science-based food safety practices are being followed on leafy greens farms.
With one of these groups consumer-centered and the other industry-focused, you might think they would be antagonists. You would be wrong.
“While our two groups may appear to be at odds, the fact is — both of us are focused on the common goal of ensuring people don’t get sick from eating healthy products like leafy greens,” said Deirdre Schlunegger, CEO of STOP Foodborne Illness. “To my knowledge this is the first time a commodity group has proactively reached out to us and invited consumers impacted by foodborne illness to come visit their operations and learn about what they are doing to protect people from getting sick.”
Educating Each Other
STOP members met with growers, handlers, processors, and food safety experts; they watched leafy greens being harvested and packaged. The group also saw a demonstration of the mandatory government audit which is at the heart of LGMA.
“We wanted this group to see the systems in place for California leafy greens that help to prevent people from becoming sick,” said Scott Horsfall, CEO of LGMA. “But we also really wanted to hear their stories and to learn about the concerns of people who have been impacted by foodborne illness.”
People like Lauren Bush of New York, who was sickened in the 2006 E. Coli outbreak. “I was really touched that not only did the farmers we met this past week really listen to our stories, but I truly could feel the impact,” she said. “I met their kids and shook their hands. I saw where they work every day. I think they truly mean it when they say they will carry our faces and voices with them. After what I saw this week, I can definitely tell other consumers that steps are being taken by California leafy greens farmers to protect others from getting sick.”
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