Building for the Future of the Vegetable Industry

Overall, 2008 turned out to be a decent year for the vegetable industry. True, input costs are up, and labor reform seems to take one step forward and one step back. However, some very positive developments took place this year. The passage of the Farm Bill was a landmark victory for the produce industry. Small, direct-market growers saw “local” emerge as perhaps the hottest buzzword in years. A vocal group of supporters stepped in to help save the New Jersey Department of Agriculture. And, in Georgia, a fine growing operation in Lewis Taylor Farms was recognized for its achievements.

There was one major hiccup, though, and yes, I’m referring to the outbreak of Salmonella saintpaul and the subsequent allegations against the tomato industry. As we move from 2008 to 2009, perhaps it’s time to reflect on the lessons to be learned from this crisis, and what needs to be done to help the industry successfully move forward.

Points To Ponder

• We can no longer allow the federal government to be the loudest voice during an investigation. This year, we saw what happens when an understaffed and underfunded agency has to take on such an endeavor. The result was baseless accusations, and then trying to determine whether those accusations were accurate. As one individual pointed out during the United Fresh Produce Association’s Public Policy Conference on Capitol Hill in September, if FDA investigators had simply turned to the industry right away, they would have been much more likely to track down the source of the outbreak.

• Crisis management is important. In today’s era of media scrutiny, this might seem like a can’t-win scenario. But we did learn that the smallest farms and the largest farms must have a plan in place to deal with situations such as what happened this year.

• Without widespread traceability, there is only speculation. I’ll talk about this more below.

Setting Goals

As we move forward, I think there are four issues the tomato industry needs to set as priorities:

• In the event of an outbreak, be proactive. Initiate your own investigation, and clear your name before anyone else has a chance to smear it.

• Make traceability technology something that every grower, packer, and shipper can incorporate into their operation. There are several companies out there developing these new systems.

• While you can’t completely eliminate food safety problems, make sure your operation has a firm food safety plan and follows all Good Agricultural Practices. More important, make sure all your employees are on the same page and enforcing these policies every day.

• Establish strong, direct relationships with your buyers. This is important whether you sell your crop locally, nationally, or internationally. Trust goes a long way in making consumers feel safe.

Let’s Hear From You

It’s easy to read all of this, but you’re the ones who are out in the field every day. You know what’s practical and what’s not. Having said that, we’d like to hear from you. What do you think the tomato industry (or for that matter, the entire vegetable industry) needs to do to move forward and make sure something like this does not happen in 2009?