TAKING THE LEAD IN PRODUCE SAFETY

California ag industry works with the state on new produce safety center

The fresh produce industry continues its efforts to protect consumers' health on a number of fronts. Most recently, the industry joined with the California Department of Food and Agriculture and the University of California to establish the new Center for Produce Safety.

The center, to be located at UC Davis's Western Institute for Food Safety and Security, will be the first of its kind in the United States to focus on the safety of fresh vegetables and fruit.

The facility will serve as a clearinghouse for research, outreach, training and some verification work, said Rob Atwill, a UC professor and interim director of the Western Institute for Food Safety and Security. "Our near-term goals are to elect a director for the center and to elect a board," he said. "Once these are in place, we will focus on those four major areas." The board will consist of representatives from agriculture, government and academia.

COLLABORATIVE FUNDING

Rob Atwill, a UC professor and interim director of the Western Institute for Food Safety and Security, says the new center will probably devote much of its efforts to exploring the behavior of pathogens like the E. coli strain that was found in California spinach.

The Center for Produce Safety is being established with $4.65 million secured from several sources. The Produce Marketing Association and Taylor Farms of Salinas, Calif., each have pledged $2 million. The California Department of Food and Agriculture is contributing $500,000 to the center, and $150,000 will come from UC's Agriculture and Natural Resources Division to fund education outreach programs.

UC officials hope for additional industry and government support.

E. COLI OUTBREAKS TRIGGER BIRTH OF THE CENTER

The idea for the center arose after recent E. coli outbreaks were traced to California spinach. In the fall of 2006, PMA, Western Growers Association and other industry associations and government agencies began working together to find better ways to ensure the safety of leafy vegetables. A marketing agreement that eventually may become mandatory was established. The agreement would require growers and handlers to follow certain procedures and record-keeping requirements.

Talk then moved to the feasibility of establishing a special facility that would house produce safety research as well as offer people in the field outreach programs and training materials.

A.G. Kawamura, secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture, said the center will work in tandem with the marketing agreement to make the state's food safety system even better. "The Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement is a major piece of the puzzle. Research, training and outreach constitute the other major piece," Kawamura said.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzeneggar also praised the center's purpose. "A true public-private partnership, the center will launch new research into products that are vulnerable to contamination with food-borne pathogens such as E. coli and salmonella. It is an outstanding example of what collaboration can accomplish," he said in a letter to the center's supporters.

A PLACE FOR LONG-TERM RESEARCH

Linda Harris, associate director of UC Davis's Western Institute for Food Safety and Security (center), and another researcher with Doug Mosebar, California Farm Bureau president. Long-term research has found a home in labs like this at the new Center for Produce Safety located at the university facility.

Much short-term research has already been done in areas such as how E.coli contamination can occur. The new center will provide a home for longer-term projects. "I suspect the emphasis of the work will address the various gaps in our knowledge of how pathogens such as E. coli 0157:H7 move about in the production environment, enter a field of produce and how best to install pre-harvest food safety practices. Plus we'll probably work on additional Good Agricultural Practices for helping ensure produce safety," Atwill said. E. coli 0157:H7 is the particularly harmful strain of involved in recent outbreaks.

The work will be done under the umbrella of the university's food safety institute, with some activity taking place in existing university facilities and some to be conducted in other locations. Atwill says the center is fortunate that funding does not have to go to building expenses. "Instead of spending 80 percent of the money on a new building, we're able to spend 80 percent of it on actual research, outreach, training and other knowledge-generating or producer training efforts," he said. "We have labs and meeting rooms here, so some of that space will be taken over by the activities of the new center, but much of the personnel involved will be located elsewhere, since those people will be affiliated with different organizations,"

It's not all about leafy greens, however. Because PMA is an international organization, Atwill said he expects that research eventually will expand to other commodities from outside the California growing areas, although the immediate need centers on lettuce, spinach and the entire western-produced "salad bowl" of products.

"It's not difficult to come up with ideas," Atwill said. "Unfortunately, there's plenty of work out there that needs to be done."

For updates on the Center for Produce Safety's progress, visit the Western Institute of Food Safety and Security's Web site at www.wifss.ucdavis.edu later this spring.

Photos of UC Davis facility courtesy of Kate Campbell, California Farm Bureau Federation

Atwill photo from Manitoba Agriculture, Food
and Rural Initiatives