A glance around the produce section of a local grocery store is all it takes to show that many of the foods we consume every day-grapes from Chile, avocadoes from Mexico-were grown outside our nation’s borders. With so many domestic outbreaks of Salmonella, E. coli, and other foodborne pathogens, food safety can seem elusive even here at home: so how can we be sure of the safety of food products that were cultivated under foreign jurisdiction?
The FDA and USDA regulate the manufacture and distribution of food products in the United States, including imports. But often, inspections initiated by border-town FDA units and completed in labs elsewhere can take so long to yield results that the remainder of the shipment of produce in question gets old and must be discarded. This process sure seems to be a waste of the FDA’s already scarce time and resources, not to mention the waste of food.
Recently in Nogales, Arizona, the inspection of squash, peppers, and other fresh produce from Mexico became much more efficient as a caravan of FDA mobile labs spent three weeks stationed close to the border, providing on-site testing particularly for Salmonella and E. coli O157:H7. Turn-around time for some testing was less than 36 hours, and not a single result was positive for Salmonella, E. coli, or any other contaminant.
FDA microbiologist Rick Crouch takes a positive view of the negative test results, interpreting the lack of foodborne pathogens to mean that suppliers are aware of FDA testing and thus more meticulous. Others may take a skeptical stance and side with the likes of Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn), who calls the mobile labs a “Band-Aid,” adding: ”It’s going to take more than a network of mobile labs to reform the FDA.”
After three weeks in Nogales, the mobile labs moved on to their next assignment (reportedly lettuce-testing in the Salinas Valley), and will continue to go wherever their help is deemed most necessary. Certainly, greater reform is needed to prevent foodborne illness, including increased FDA authority and resources. But, when all it takes is one bad batch of produce to start a massive Salmonella or E. coli outbreak, even just three weeks’ worth of well-inspected imports is a move in the right direction towards improved food safety measures.
