Subcommittee Reviews Federal Food Safety Standards for Fresh and Organic Produce

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, Congressman Dennis Cardoza, Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee's Subcommittee on Horticulture and Organic Agriculture, held a hearing to review the current strategies and standards used by the horticulture and organic sectors to prevent, monitor and control potential food safety hazards.

The Subcommittee heard testimony from the Dr. David Acheson who is Associate Commissioner for Foods at the Food and Drug Administration, David Shipman who is Acting Administrator for the Agricultural Marketing Service at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and from representatives of conventional and organic produce growers and processors.

The Food and Drug Administration has the primary responsibility for Federal food safety efforts related to fruit and vegetable products. The Agricultural Marketing Service designs and delivers marketing programs that can include agriculture product inspections for quality and verification of production processes, including food safety related requirements.

"In general, we have the safest, highest quality food supply in the world. However, there are times when the system fails. Part of the problem may be that there are currently 15 different federal agencies tasked with monitoring the safety and security of our food supply," Subcommittee Chairman Cardoza said. "It is imperative that we bring our food safety requirements up to date for the benefit of producers and consumers alike."

"I know many producers in my state have concerns about the FDA regulating on-farm activities. I share these concerns based on the recognition that while FDA has vast expertise regulating food processing, the agency has little expertise or infrastructure to fairly and effectively regulate farm production practices," said Subcommittee Ranking Member Jean Schmidt (R-OH).

Written testimony provided by the witnesses is available on the Committee website: http://agriculture.house.gov/hearings/index.html.  A full transcript of the hearing will be posted on the Committee website at a later date.

Panel I

• David W.K. Acheson, M.D., F.R.C.P., Associate Commissioner for Foods, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Rockville, Maryland
  • Accompanied by Steven M. Solomon, D.V.M., M.P.H., Assistant Commissioner for Compliance Policy, Office of Regulatory Affairs, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Rockville, Maryland
• David Shipman, Acting Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C.

Panel II

• Joe Pezzini, Chief Operating Officer, Ocean Mist Farms, Castroville, California
• Ron Ratto, President, Ratto Bros., Inc., Modesto, California
• Philip LoBue, President, LoBue Bros., Inc., Lindsay, California
• Nicholas C. Maravell, owner and operator, Nick's Organic Farm, LLC, Potomac, Maryland
• Steve Hirsch, Partner, Hirsch Fruit Farm, Inc., on behalf of Ohio Produce Growers and Marketers Association and Ohio Farm Bureau, Chillicothe, Ohio
• Charles A. Wingard, Director of Field Operations, Walter P. Rawl & Sons, Pelion, South Carolina
• Robert F. Stovicek, Ph.D., President and Chairman of Primus Group, Inc., Santa Maria, California