Internal testing reveals latest Salmonella scare in US
3rd September 2007 by Alex Briggs
Fresh Metz, a California based “grower and shipper specializing in year-round custom-grown spinach” has voluntarily recalled 8,000 cases of its products after an internal test found traces of salmonella on some of their products.
Coming on the back of new guidelines rolled out just five months ago, the latest recall of spinach has shocked the industry and highlighted the limitations of the new legislature in eliminating the problem.
Further complicating the issue is the fact that Fresh Metz, following the E Coli outbreak in 2006, implemented internal tests and procedures that went beyond the new legislature. It was through the new “internal testing procedure” that the traces of salmonella were detected. All of this leaves the appearance that Fresh Metz are paying the price for their thoroughness and dedication to food safety.
A.G. Kawamura, secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture, took the risky step of praising the industry in the middle of this crisis.
He wrote Clalifornia’s Sen. Florez on Friday that the agreement’s food safety and product tracking systems were responsible for “preventing an outbreak that could have resulted from contaminated spinach.”
The importance of standardised food safety standards and regulations and independent third party verification of those standards has never been more relevant and important.