Tim Dunn speaks out on E. coli letter

Lettuce season is back in Yuma County, but this year’s E. coli outbreak linked to our area has farmers concerned about making sure it doesn’t happen again.

Because of this, Arizona state Representative Tim Dunn requested results from a recent E. coli investigation done by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Dunn’s main concern was to make sure the E. coli report was in by October 5.

“Ag[riculture] stakeholders here want to make sure food is safe for consumers,” said Dunn.

If the report is finalized 30 days before the industry starts harvesting, the stakeholders will have enough time to react to any changes.

According to Dunn, though the FDA has not indicated any new changes yet, industries are working closely with the Department of Agriculture to make sure they can keep an outbreak from happening again.

Dunn also requested to have a memorandum of understanding explored with the Food Safety Modernization Act, which would get the Arizona Department of Agriculture to have primacy and do investigations on behalf of FDA.

Last spring, a bill was passed to allow the Arizona Department of Agriculture to work but not act on FDA inspections

The third thing Dunn requested, was to not release names of growers involved in an investigation until they have proof the grower was the one with the problem.

The 2007 spinach E. coli outbreak that originated in Salinas, Calif. impacted the following growing season in Yuma.

After the spinach outbreak, the Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement was created.

Provisions from the Leafy Greens Food Safety Task Force aimed at improving produce shipping conditions.

The Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement voluntary program allows growers to sign up and begin restrictions to ensure growers ship safe product.