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March 1, 2011
· Tomatoes exonerated in ‘08 salmonella case
· Global expansion to fuel Deere & Co. sales
· Gates foundation funds new collaboration
· California water use study full of surprises
· Wary shoppers find GM foods everywhere
Tomatoes exonerated in ‘08 salmonella case
(Food Safety News) – It's probably no comfort to tomato growers who lost their crop that year, but the team that investigated the 2008 Salmonella Saintpaul outbreak has stepped up with an explanation on why there was not more precision in naming the source of the pathogen--they say it was complicated.
Writing in the New England Journal of Medicine, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) outbreak team involved in the epidemiological investigation into the 1,500 cases of the outbreak strain of Salmonella enterica Saintpaul said their inquiry was really a series of investigations.
Raw tomatoes were implicated early on, but "subsequent epidemiologic and microbiologic evidence implicated jalapeno and Serrano peppers," according to the journal article.
Acting on the early information, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned consumers not to eat tomatoes, just as many spring and early summer crops were ready for market.
The nationwide investigation that followed was really a series of separate studies and probes into as many as nine restaurant clusters in a half dozen states.
"Raw tomatoes were an ingredient in an implicated item
in three clusters," the journal article says. "The outbreak strain was identified in
jalapeno peppers collected in
CDC first learned about the Salmonella Saintpaul outbreak on May 22, 2008 when it was notified by the New Mexico Department of Health about 19 cases of Salmonella infection.
It would lead to weeks of frustrating work. The first
studies focused on the
All the while the outbreak was getting more serious, with 21 percent of those infected requiring hospital treatment and two deaths. And a month after the erroneous tomato warning, FDA issued one for peppers.
The nine restaurant clusters were in such far flung areas as
East Texas,
Jalapeno peppers were implicated at through ingredient level
analysis in the North Texas,
The outbreak team says many Salmonella illnesses are not confirmed by culture, making it likely that there were many more victims of the 2008 outbreak than were included in the count.
"The results of multiple investigations indicate that jalapeno peppers were the major vehicle for transmission and serrano peppers were also a vehicle," the journal article says.
"These findings include epidemiologic associations between illnesses and consumption of hot peppers, the convergence of tracebacks to a single farm that grew both types of peppers but not tomatoes, and the isolation of the outbreak strain from agricultural water and Serrano peppers collected off that (Mexican) farm."
In a response to the CDC report, "CDC Study Vindicates Tomatoes ...," the United Fresh produce industry group expressed some lingering resentment but also struck a conciliatory note.
"By prematurely jumping to the conclusion that tomatoes were causing the outbreak, officials may have unwittingly allowed the outbreak to continue," said United Fresh president and CEO Tom Stenzel in the statement.
Stenzel added, "We credit the CDC and Food and Drug Administration now for reporting these findings, as an important lesson to be learned in outbreak investigations." In the event of some future outbreak, he said, " ... we stand ready to work with local, state and federal officials to bring the most rapid identification, traceback and removal of a product from the marketplace."
Global expansion to fuel Deere & Co. sales
(Bloomberg)
– Deere & Co., the world’s largest manufacturer of agriculture equipment,
said it plans to almost double sales to $50 billion by 2018 by expanding
operations outside the
The company has a goal of achieving a 12 percent operating
margin by 2014, Chief Executive Officer Sam Allen said today at Deere’s annual
shareholder meeting at its
“The revised strategy also lays out some challenging aspirations or goals,” he said. “By hitting these marks, the company would grow to about twice its present size and deliver about three times as much economic profit at normal volumes.”
Deere raised its fiscal 2011 profit forecast last week after
advancing crop prices boosted North American sales of combines and tractors.
The company got 35 percent its sales from outside the
“It’s a realistic goal that’s attainable at an earlier date,” said Eli Lustgarten, an analyst for Longbow Research in Independence, Ohio, who has a “buy” rating on the shares, said in a telephone interview.
The plan represents the first revision in the company’s strategy in a decade, Allen said. Deere has been working on it over the past two years and will roll out the plan in fiscal 2011, Ken Golden, a company spokesman, said in an interview.
Deere’s sales rose 13 percent to $26 billion in fiscal 2010. Its operating margin -- calculated as operating income divided by net sales -- was 10.6 percent in fiscal 2010, according to Bloomberg data.
Gates foundation funds new collaboration
KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Reuters) – Amid global unrest over food security, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation said Sunday it was forging a new effort to support agricultural research projects in Africa and Asia aimed at helping small farmers increase crop yields and farm incomes.
The Gates Foundation, which is already a force in
agricultural research and development in
The Gates Foundation has a long history in agricultural development, spending over $2 billion for projects in developing countries.
The
Gates officials said the money will go toward scientific research that helps farmers produce more and better food.
The partnership comes as escalating food prices are putting millions at risk of hunger and malnutrition and threatening economic and social stability throughout the world.
World Bank data released this month showed higher food prices -- mainly for wheat, corn, sugars and edible oils -- have pushed 44 million more people in developing countries into extreme poverty since June 2010.
World Bank chief Robert Zoellick
said this month that global food prices have reached "dangerous
levels," and warned that the impact could complicate fragile political and
social conditions in the Middle East and
WHEAT DISEASE RESEARCH KEY
Through the collaboration,
Wheat represents approximately 30 percent of the world's production of grain crops and nearly half of that production will be harvested in developing countries.
The Ug99 disease is particularly deadly to many popular varieties of wheat, and scientists around the world are racing to find a solution.
"The Ug99 and related strains of the rust fungus are really pretty dangerous on most of the world's wheat," said Gates Foundation senior program officer Kathy Kahn. "It is an urgent problem."
But the work has drawn critics who charge that the Gates
Foundation and its private sector partners, including biotech crop leader
Monsanto Co, are pushing to industrialize agriculture and commercialize
genetically engineered crops in
California
(sacbee.com)
– A new report released this week on
The report by the Public Policy Institute of California, "Managing California's Water," does not suggest deep water conservation on farms.
It also does not presume that all of the state's native fishes can be saved. Or that all its aquatic habitats should be restored to some pre-settlement ideal.
Rather, the report's theme is "reconciliation,"
which the authors define as managing
"We have to keep in mind, we don't have a natural
system left in
The authors propose a shift from managing water and habitats based on the needs of a single endangered species to one that preserves whole ecosystems. They go so far as to suggest this may mean sacrificing some species for a greater good.
The 500-page report focuses on statewide water problems, but the eight authors acknowledge the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta remains at the heart of many issues.
In an earlier report by the institute, many of the same
authors supported a canal or tunnel to divert a portion of the
They propose cutting urban water demand statewide by 30 percent, which could allow total Delta water diversions to be cut by about 10 percent, further helping the estuary.
Yet they propose no conservation goal for agriculture, which uses about 80 percent of all the state's water. Farm conservation, they assert, is ineffective in reducing net water demand because the saved water still ends up getting used to grow more crops elsewhere.
Real agricultural water savings come only from fallowing farm land, the authors state, which should be determined by market forces.
These claims were disputed by Peter Gleick, president of the Pacific Institute, a nonprofit think tank that researches water and other environmental issues.
A 30 percent urban conservation goal will do very little to cut Delta water diversions, he said, because urban water use is relatively small.
And in previous studies of his own, Gleick has identified millions of acre-feet in potential water savings on farms, whether by switching from flood to drip irrigation, or by changing the delivery practices of irrigation agencies.
"A vast amount of water could be saved by smart agricultural efficiency practices," Gleick said. "The argument that agriculture can't save water pretends there's no unproductive evaporation, and that there's no water lost to groundwater that we can't recover."
Many of the report's conclusions echo prior studies that call for government reform.
For instance, it recommends transferring the State Water Project, which manages Delta diversion pumps and the California Aqueduct, from the state Department of Water Resources to a new independent system operator. This would function much like the agency that oversees the state electric grid.
The state's regional water quality control boards would
become regional stewardship authorities, with expanded power over issues now
centralized in
The State Water Resources Control Board would gain full regulatory power over groundwater, which is not even monitored comprehensively today.
Ellen Hanak, one of the study's lead authors and a senior fellow at the institute, said many recommendations can be achieved at low cost and without new legislation.
"Our assessment of the current situation is
bleak," she said. "A lot of the management we've been doing in
The study can be found online at www.ppic.org.
Wary shoppers find GM foods everywhere
(AP
via Yahoo! News) –
Genetically modified plants grown from seeds engineered in
labs now provide much of the food we eat. Most corn, soybean and cotton crops
grown in the
The Agriculture Department has approved three more genetically engineered crops in the past month, and the Food and Drug Administration could approve fast-growing genetically modified salmon for human consumption this year.
Agribusiness and the seed companies say their products help boost crop production, lower prices at the grocery store and feed the world, particularly in developing countries. The FDA and USDA say the engineered foods they've approved are safe — so safe, they don't even need to be labeled as such — and can't be significantly distinguished from conventional varieties.
Organic food companies, chefs and consumer groups have stepped up their efforts — so far, unsuccessfully — to get the government to exercise more oversight of engineered foods, arguing the seeds are floating from field to field and contaminating pure crops. The groups have been bolstered by a growing network of consumers who are wary of processed and modified foods.
Many of these opponents acknowledge that there isn't much solid evidence showing genetically modified foods are somehow dangerous or unhealthy. It just doesn't seem right, they say. It's an ethical issue.
"If you mess with nature there's a side effect somewhere," says George Siemon, CEO of Organic Valley, the nation's largest organic farming cooperative, which had more than $600 million in sales last year. "There is a growing awareness that our system makes us all guinea pigs of sorts."
The
"The rapid adoption of GE crops has clashed with the rapid expansion of demand for organic and other non-GE products," Vilsack said in December as he considered whether to approve genetically modified alfalfa. "This clash led to litigation and uncertainty . . . Surely, there is a better way, a solution that acknowledges agriculture's complexity, while celebrating and promoting its diversity."
Vilsack later approved the engineered alfalfa for use — along with sugar beets and a type of corn used in ethanol — to the disappointment of the organic industry, but he said the department would do additional research on ways to prevent contamination of natural seeds and improve detection of contamination.
Organic companies have praised Vilsack for even acknowledging the issue, as large seed companies like Monsanto and the substantial chunk of agribusiness that use their seeds have long held sway at USDA.
The organic industry has a lot to lose. USDA regulations do
not allow genetically modified seeds to be used in organic production, and organic
farmers say that as engineered crops become more common, it will be harder to
prevent contamination. The industry also is concerned fears of contamination
could hurt its sales, especially in
While opponents of engineered foods haven't found federal agencies overly receptive to their concerns, they've been able to delay some USDA approvals with lawsuits. The alfalfa decision followed a lengthy court battle that was closely watched not only by the organic industry, but by consumers — a development that opponents believe will help their cause.
"We're seeing a level of reaction that is unprecedented," says Jeffrey Smith, an activist who has fought the expansion of genetically engineered foods since they were first introduced 15 years ago and written two books on the subject. "I personally think we are going to hit the tipping point of consumer rejection very soon."
Many consumers also have followed the Food and Drug Administration's consideration of an engineered salmon that grows twice as fast as the conventional variety. If the FDA approves the fish for sale, it will be the first time the government has allowed genetically modified animals to be marketed for humans to eat.
Consumer interest in the issue has magnified in the past
five years, along with interest in eating locally grown and organic foods, said
Genetically modified crops were introduced to the market in 1996. That year, engineered corn accounted for less than 5 percent of the total crop. Last year, the USDA estimated that 70 percent of the nation's corn acreage was planted with corn engineered to resist herbicides and 63 percent had been planted with insect-resistant seeds. Rates for soybeans and cotton are even higher.
The federal government approves genetically modified plants and animals on a case by case basis, with the FDA and USDA looking at the potential effects on food safety, agriculture and the environment. Critics say the process needs to be more thorough and more research should be done with an eye on potential dangers. Agencies often rely on companies' own data to make their decisions.
The genetic engineering industry says its products already receive far more scrutiny than most of the food people put in their mouths. It also says 15 years of consumption with no widely recognized health problems shows much of the concern is overhyped.
David B. Schmidt, who heads the International Food Information Council Foundation, a food-industry funded group that has polled consumers on genetically modified foods, said their responses depend on how the issue is framed. When pollsters tell consumers that some foods can be engineered to have health benefits — such as biotech soybeans designed to reduce trans fats in soybean oil — they become more open to them. Most consumers are more open to modifications in fruits and vegetables than in animals, he added.
Still, many people don't know what to think. About half of the consumers the foundation has polled recently have either been neutral on the subject or didn't know enough to have an opinion.
Dan Barber, a well-known
He believes messing with nature will always have collateral damage. And, the more genetically modified crops are used, he said, the more pure crops will become compromised.
"Once you head down that road you don't turn back," Barber said.
End Transmission