GRAIN VALLEY, Mo. — The September 2006 outbreak of E.coli that killed three Americans and sickened another 200 (there was one confirmed case of illness in Canada) has prompted an examination of business practices within the California produce industry, particularly the leafy green growers and shippers.

For several months now, OOIDA (the Owner Operators and Independent Drivers Association) and members of the U.S. Congress have been questioning whether the produce industry should be allowed to regulate itself.

On June 1, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) began requiring that all shipments of leafy green produce imported from California be accompanied by a document confirming it was grown according to the voluntary California Leafy Green Products Handler Marketing Agreement.

Joe Rajkovacz, regulatory affairs specialist at OOIDA, and a former produce hauler with more than 25 years experience, calls the measure inadequate.

“We don’t believe that an industry like this one should be allowed to self-regulate,” he tells us. “There’s too much at stake, and the growers have almost nothing to lose. What’s going to happen? They’ll lose the certification mark on their boxes? How useful is that?”

It’s a question of when, not if, truckers will be implicated
for the transmission of food-borne pathogens, OOIDA says.

In February, the Consumers Union issued a statement in support of the Safe Food Act, a bill that would establish a single food agency with enhanced powers.

“A single food agency with enhanced powers could conduct more systematic inspections, would have authority to recall hazardous food products, and could conduct enforcement actions against violators,” said Sally Greenberg, senior counsel at Consumers Union.

That’s not the case today, believe it or not. But government proponents maintain that while making sure recalled product doesn’t make its way into the food supply chain is a “legitimate concern,” he said voluntary recalls are getting the job done.

Calling the marketing agreement a “feel-good measure,” Rajkovacz says OOIDA would like to see something more — a regulatory approach with teeth — that also addresses the rest of the food distribution chain. “Taking care of the problems in the field is one thing, but who’s going to take care of what happens on the docks and in the trucks themselves?” he asks.

Ripe With Problems:

While Rajkovacz is not aware of any instances where truckers have already been implicated by the transmission of food-borne pathogens, he thinks it’s a question of when, not if.

“Sooner or later something will happen, and then there will be calls for regulation,” he says, adding, “but you know, a lot of what goes on back there [at the docks] isn’t our fault.”

He points to loading practices where lumpers are hired to load trucks that have no training in the safe handling of food product. And there’s ample opportunity for contamination from previous cargos, either in the pallet exchange or in residue left in the trailers if they’re not properly sanitized before loading.

“Some of those shippers will hire the cheapest truck they can find, probably some guy who just hauled a load of pig guts from a rendering plant, and fill him up with greens,” he says. “You don’t often see any of the larger carriers in places like that. They know better. We need and would welcome regulations that could prevent that kind of thing.”