Federal agency preparing food safety guidance for nuts

By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI

Capital Press

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has asked to review and critique food safety measures developed by Oregon's hazelnut industry.

The agency held a teleconference May 10 with several hazelnut packers and farmer representatives to discuss steps the industry is taking to prevent outbreaks of foodborne illness.

"It is an opportunity to show we're being proactive, serious and committed to food safety," said Compton Chase-Lansdale, president and CEO of the Hazelnut Growers of Oregon cooperative.

The meeting between FDA and industry representatives was closed to the public, but several industry sources commented to Capital Press about the discussion.

An agency official told participants that FDA is preparing food safety guidance documents for hazelnuts and several other agricultural commodities, said Polly Owen, manager of the Oregon Hazelnut Marketing Board.

It's likely the FDA would have been in touch with the industry over these plans anyway, but the agency increased scrutiny of hazelnuts after an outbreak of E. coli several months ago, she said.

The case drew particular interest because it was the first link between nuts and that particular bacterial pathogen, and because the nuts were still in their shells, Owen said. Previously, in-shell nuts were considered at lower risk of contamination.

"We got everybody's attention with that," she said.

Between December 2010 and mid-February, eight people were found to have been infected with a strain of E. coli that state and federal health authorities linked to hazelnuts.

That finding prompted a recall of hazelnuts in March from the DeFranco and Sons repacking company of Los Angeles. The company said George Packing Co. of Newberg, Ore., supplied the nuts.

The Minnesota Department of Health later found that hazelnuts from the home of a person sickened by E. coli tested positive for the same strain of bacteria that affected other people in the outbreak.

The FDA has since closed the case and is now focused on working with hazelnut growers and packers on prevention strategies, Owen said. "Everything changed gears and the goal now is for the industry to move forward in the most efficient way."

Capital Press was unable to reach agency representatives for comment.

The FDA will likely study the measures implemented by growers and packers and then potentially recommend changes, Owen said.

Chase-Lansdale, of Hazelnut Growers of Oregon, said the agency's direction so far has been "somewhat elusive" in regard to specific standards.

"They don't articulate that for us," he said.

Although the FDA is taking a passive role at this point, Chase-Lansdale said the industry is concerned about what the agency plans to do with new enforcement powers related to the Food Safety Modernization Act -- as well as the new regulations that will be written to implement that statute.

"There's certainly pressure on us," he said.

The hazelnut industry should expect that FDA will want more documentation of food safety practices, said Tim Newkirk, a hazelnut farmer and general manager of the Willamette Filbert Growers packing company in Newberg.

The company was involved in a 2009 recall of shelled hazelnuts that were potentially infected with salmonella bacteria, according to the FDA.

In Newkirk's experience, the FDA doesn't generally provide detailed instructions, he said. Rather, the agency wants producers and handlers to develop the processes themselves and then demonstrate their effectiveness.

"They want the scientific proof that what we're doing works and the documentation that we're doing it," Newkirk said.

For handlers, using disinfectants during hazelnut processing can reduce the risk of contamination, he said. On farms, ensuring that employees have access to sanitary toilet facilities is necessary.

Establishing clear areas around orchards can also discourage contamination from wildlife, as many animals typically avoid being out in the open, he said.

In many cases, packers and growers already have such measures in place but will now need to start documenting them, Newkirk said.