Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports, said yesterday that it will oppose “a proposed national USDA Leafy Green Marketing Agreement” that it says “will fail to adequately improve the safety of raw spinach and other salad ingredients.”
“We urgently need improvements in the safety of many kinds of food, from spinach and other leafy greens to peanut butter to imported fish,” says Elisa Odabashian, Director of Consumers Union’s west coast office. “But this USDA Marketing Agreement approach is the wrong way to go about it. It amounts to industry self-regulation, wrapped up in a USDA package, so consumers think the government is insuring that their food is safe. But all the safety standards will be developed by the big food processors and other members of the industry. There will be only one consumer member on their Administrative Committee, and that consumer member will be chosen by the food processors."
“We urgently need improvements in the safety of many kinds of food, from spinach and other leafy greens to peanut butter to imported fish,” says Elisa Odabashian, Director of Consumers Union’s west coast office. “But this USDA Marketing Agreement approach is the wrong way to go about it. It amounts to industry self-regulation, wrapped up in a USDA package, so consumers think the government is insuring that their food is safe. But all the safety standards will be developed by the big food processors and other members of the industry. There will be only one consumer member on their Administrative Committee, and that consumer member will be chosen by the food processors."
- KC's View:
