On January 4, 2013, FDA issued its long-announced proposed rule implementing Standards for Produce Safety mandated by Congress in the Food Safety Modernization Act. There has been much consternation about the exemptions and inclusions. For instance, produce commodities which are rarely consumed raw, e.g., asparagus, cranberries and potatoes, are “out”, but tree fruits, which never touch the ground and have never been associated with food-borne illness outbreaks, are “in”. Fruit tree growers are loudly opposing the broad jurisdiction of the proposed Standards, which would impose a costly burden of recordkeeping and implementation on an industry already struggling with high prices.
We believe these complaints will (and should) fall on deaf ears. Not because we do not like tree-fruit growers; quite the contrary, we love them — the ones in South America and Central America anyway. These growers are the focus of an import alert against foreign orange juice due to the presence of carbendazim; however, FDA permits domestic orange juice with the same or higher concentrations of the same pesticide to remain in the U.S. food supply. This might sound like sour grapes (or lemons), but trying to reason with FDA when it is sure it knows better is like trying to, well, put lipstick on a pig.
Supporters of FDA’s proposed rules point to devastating food poisoning events and recalls, saying that increased regulation will minimize the risk of such serious consequences. The fact is, they will not. The vast majority of foreign and domestic farming operations are adequately stellar — with emphasis on the word stellar when talking about the foreign operations. You doubt us?
Consider that these proposed regulations have already given FDA (and domestic industry groups — such as domestic fruit tree growers) a welcome opportunity to take cheap shots at foreign-sourced foods. The general wisdom is that domestic, American food is fine, while imported food could be laced with sorts of unknown dangers.
However, the facts do not support that argument. This Washington Post article has an embedded slideshow about the dangers of contaminated food, citing several large and dangerous outbreaks of illnesses like listeria, salmonella, e. coli, and others. A slideshow which we discussed in an earlier post on food safety tries to create the same fear among consumers. Here’s the shocker: of fourteen mentioned outbreaks, only two implicated imported foods. Even in the slideshow language, those outbreaks originating from imported food are discussed much more dramatically (1,200 cases of food poisoning, some fatal!) than those originating from domestic food (as many as 16 people have died), even when the illness was much more serious.
There’s a reason there is a lower risk with imported food. FDA’s import alert system, the Customs, USDA, and FDA inspection system at the border and ports of entry, and shrill congressional and consumer advocacy voices about the dangers of imported food mean, for foreign farmers and processors, that One Failure Equals Total Business Failure. There are no inspectors poised at the border of California and Arizona ready to pounce on the deadly leafy greens crossing that border! None.
History demonstrates that imported food is of relatively little concern, when compared to domestic produce. So, to the domestic fruit tree farmers: Americans will reap what FDA has sown — higher food prices.
