Watching the most recent version of Dole recalling leafy greens reminded me of something that Tom Ragan, Sentinel staff writer, wrote months ago – Leafy green growers, shippers face three strikes rule
It’s three strikes or they’re out for growers, shippers or handlers who violate food safety standards designed to prevent future E. coli outbreaks. The new policy is expected to be passed later this month in Sacramento by the California Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement Advisory Board, set up by the industry earlier this year. The stringent policy was outlined Tuesday before hundreds of growers and handlers who gathered at the Salinas Community Center. The three-strikes policy is the backbone to the 150-page agreement, intended to safeguard against another E. coli outbreak like the one that killed three people late last summer and sickened more than 200 others across the country. So far, hundreds of handlers, growers and shippers, an estimated 99 percent of the industry, have signed on to the agreement, and ultimately they will be awarded a “seal of approval” if they follow its chief guidelines.
So, where is the enforcement? Dole has had outbreaks in 2005 and 2006. This recall in 2007 seems to add up to three.
One problem Dole is having is that its products have begun to be held up to scorn. Click on Colbert’s picture: