Salmonella and Food Safety: A Local Solution

In the first three months of the 2008 salmonella outbreak, over 1,000 people were affected nationwide in the largest food-borne illness outbreak in a decade. As the number of reported cases continued to rise, there was no definitive conclusion about its source, first thought to be tomatoes, then cilantro, then chili peppers. Food safety officials agreed that federal food safety regulations should be tighter and the FDA better equipped to determine quickly the source of such an outbreak. Federal laws do not currently require full traceability of produce items. Focus of the discussion is now on the implementation of a bar code-tracking system that would require each box of produce to be labeled with its origin.

The recent salmonella outbreak is so difficult to contain precisely because it is so widespread, with cases reported in 41 states. It has taken months to determine the common denominator in all cases, and still no concrete evidence has emerged as to the source. By contrast, locally grown food is easier to track. If salmonella contamination were to occur on a farm that supplies the local region, the spread of disease could be contained quickly because the source and affected population would be easily identified.

Note also that organic tomatoes were virtually ruled out as a source of the outbreak when tomatoes were the prime suspect. This is because organic standards require careful handling of manure fertilizers. There is no regulation on manure handling for conventional farms, which is where food-borne disease outbreaks often originate. Food safety and security is just one more reason why locally grown organic produce is better for people and the planet.