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4. Scholarships available for farmers and extension
educators to attend The 2006 CSA conference
Raising Vegetables and Civic Values: CSA
in the 21st Century
Second Biennial Conference for Community Supported Agriculture
When: November
10-12, 2006
Where: Kettunen Center near
Contact: CSA-MI
231-889-3216 (toll free 877-526-1441)
Email [log in to unmask]
Please forward this information to
people in your area who may be interested. In addition to the farmer
scholarships mentioned below, we have scholarship support for agricultural
professionals -- Extension, NRCS, MDA, FSA, etc. -- who are interested in
learning more about CSA so that they can better support farmers in CSA
ventures. Contact
The workshop schedule is nearing completion, the keynoters are getting their
presentations ready and the mini-school curriculum is being hammered out.
The best news is that we have a SARE grant to help farmers with the costs of
the program. Nearly 50 participants (more if some other grant money comes
through) can benefit from this program. You can apply by going to the website
below and downloading the application form (look in the conference section of
the site for 'financial assistance' or click on http://csafarms.org/csafarms7462042.asp).
Contact us direct with your mailing address for a printed copy.
Check the website, too, for updates on the program, speakers and other details.
5. Seeking a certifying agency for your
organic or transitioning farm?
New Farm (from Rodale Research Farm) has a web site that
offers comparison that you can compare agencies side by side or take a look at
the whole list based on type of certification you are seeking. You can take a
look at their fees, how it is staffed, strengths as directed by some customers,
number of farms they inspects as well as their size and type of farm. This site
of course also provides the contact information.
http://www.newfarm.org/ocdbt/ is where
you can compare certifiers and search for a certifier for a specific quality.
6. WHO CARES WHERE
YOUR FOOD COMES FROM?
Surveys show 86 percent of consumers
support a law that would require foods to have a label identifying their
country of origin. Congress responded to consumer pressure way back in 2002 and
passed a Country of Origin law (COOL) for beef, lamb, pork, fish, peanuts, and
fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables. Unfortunately, except for fish, this
law has never been implemented. The meat portion of the COOL law was supposed
to go into effect by the end of this month. But some of the biggest players in
the meat industry, including Cargill and Tyson Foods formed a massive lobbying
group affectionately entitled the "Meat Promotion Coalition." The
group has successfully badgered Congress into delaying implementation of the
law until at least 2008.
This
survey is a cooperative effort by thousands of grassroots organic consumers
like you. With your help, we can make the organic movement a strong political
force.
Organic consumers’ association survey for
To
date, 173 cases of illness due to E. coli O157:H7 infection have been reported
to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), including 27 cases of
Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS), 92 hospitalizations and one death.
To
date, 25 states have reported cases of E. coli O157:H7 infection.
The
Utah Department of Health (UDOH) and the Salt Lake Valley Health Department
(SLVHD) have confirmed that E. coli O157:H7, the same strain as that associated
with the outbreak, has been found in a bag of Dole baby spinach purchased in
Utah with a use by date of August 30, 2006. Laboratory tests were conducted by
the Utah Public Health Laboratory (UPHL).
On
September 22, 2006, two (2) more firms initiated voluntary recalls: Triple B
Corporation, doing business as S.T. Produce, of
FDA
is working closely with CDC and the state of
Consumers
are advised not to purchase or consume fresh spinach if they cannot verify that
it was grown in areas other than the three
Other produce grown in these counties is not implicated in this outbreak.
Processed spinach (e.g., frozen and canned spinach) is also not implicated in
this outbreak.
Industry
is working to get spinach from areas not implicated in the current E. coli
O157:H7 outbreak back on the market.
Investigators
from FDA, CDC and the state of
The
25 affected states are: Arizona (7), California (1), Colorado (1), Connecticut
(3) Idaho (4), Illinois (1), Indiana (8), Kentucky (8), Maine (3), Maryland
(3), Michigan (4), Minnesota (2), Nebraska (9), Nevada (1), New Mexico (5), New
York (11), Ohio (20), Oregon (6), Pennsylvania (8), Tennessee (1), Utah (18),
Virginia (2), Washington (3), Wisconsin (43), and Wyoming (1).
The
Utah Department of Health (UDOH) and the Salt Lake Valley Health Department
(SLVHD) have confirmed that E. coli O157:H7, the same strain as that associated
with the outbreak, has been found in a bag of Dole baby spinach purchased in
Utah with a use by date of August 30, 2006. Laboratory tests were conducted by
the Utah Public Health Laboratory (UPHL).
The
New Mexico Department of Health announced on September 20, 2006, that it had
linked a sample from a package of spinach with the outbreak strain of E. coli
O157:H7. The spinach was eaten by one of
On
September 22, 2006, Pacific Coast Fruit Company of
Baby
Spring Mix Salad Kit (4.6 lbs), Chef on the Run- Bacon Spinach Salad (9 oz.
plus 2 fl. oz. dressing), Chef on the Run - Spring Greens Salad (5 oz. plus 2
fl. oz. dressing), Chef on the Run - Willamette Valley Salad (10 oz. plus 2 fl.
oz. dressing),Trader Joe’s - Baby Spinach and Greens with Bleu Cheese,
Candied Pecans and Cranberries with Raspberry Vinaigrette Dressing (10 oz.),
Trader Joe’s - Baby Greens and Spinach Salad with Wild Maine Blueberry
Dressing (10 oz.), Mediterranean Veggie Blend Kit - 15 lbs, and My Brothers
Pizza Spinach and Garlic - 15 oz. and 36 oz.
Most
of the salad products can be identified by the labels Trader Joe’s, My
Brothers Pizza or Chef on the Run and are in clam shell containers. Pizza
products are in round cardboard bottoms with a plastic over wrap. All salad
products will have a “USE BY DATE” on or before Sept 20, 2006.
Pizza products will have a “USE BY DATE” on or before September 23,
2006.
The
products were distributed through various retail outlets in
On
September 22, 2006,Triple B Corporation, doing business as S.T. Produce, of
Seattle, Washington, initiated a voluntary recall of its fresh spinach salad
products with a “Use By” date of 8/22/2006 thru 9/20/2006. Spinach
used in these products may have been supplied from Natural Selections Foods of
California. The recalled products were distributed in
The
products recalled by S.T. Produce are: NWG Spinach Salad (5 oz.),Spinach Salad,
QFC (5 oz.), Charlie’s Spinach Salad (5 oz.), Charlie’s Tabouli
& Goat Cheese Salad (10 oz.), NWG Tabouli & Goat Cheese Salad (10
oz.),Tabouli & Goat Cheese Salad, QFC (10 oz.), T/H Spring Mix Salad (5.5
oz.), T/H Mozzarella Spring Mix Salad (5.5 oz.), T/H Baby Spinach Salad (5.5
oz.), Walnut and Blue Cheese Salad w/ Grilled Chicken Breast (6.5 oz.),
Larry’s Market Tabouli & Goat Cheese Salad (10 oz.), Charlie’s
Seasonal Greens Salad (2.5 oz.), Charlie’s Seasonal Greens Salad (4 oz.),
Charlie’s Baby Spinach Salad (6 oz.), Charlie’s Baby Spinach Salad
(5 oz.) and Caesar Bowtie Noodle Salad Kit with Grilled Chicken Breast (6.9
lbs).
On
September 19, 2006, RLB Food Distributors, L.P.,
On September 17, 2006, River Ranch, of
On
September 15, 2006, Natural Selection Foods, LLC, of San Juan Bautista,
California, announced a voluntary recall of all products containing spinach in
all brands they pack with "Best if Used by Dates" of August 17, 2006
through October 1, 2006. These products include spinach and any salad with
spinach in a blend, both retail and food service products. Products that do not
contain spinach are not part of this recall.
Natural
Selection Foods, LLC brands include: Natural Selection Foods, Pride of San
Juan, Earthbound Farm, Bellissima, Dole, Rave Spinach, Emeril, Sysco, O
Organic, Fresh Point, River Ranch, Superior, Nature's Basket, Pro-Mark,
Compliments, Trader Joe's, Ready Pac, Jansal Valley, Cheney Brothers, D'Arrigo
Brothers, Green Harvest, Mann, Mills Family Farm, Premium Fresh, Snoboy, The
Farmer's Market, Tanimura & Antle, President's Choice, Cross Valley, and
Riverside Farms.
The affected products were also distributed to
E.
coli O157:H7 causes diarrhea, often with bloody stools. Although most healthy
adults can recover completely within a week, some people can develop a form of
kidney failure called HUS. HUS is most likely to occur in young children and
the elderly. The condition can lead to serious kidney damage and even death.
The
FDA developed the Lettuce Safety Initiative www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/lettsafe.html
in response to recurring outbreaks of E. coli O157:H7 in lettuce. As a result
of this outbreak, the initiative has been expanded to cover spinach. The
primary goals of the initiative are to reduce public health risks by focusing
on the product, agents and areas of greatest concern and to alert consumers
early and respond rapidly in the event of an outbreak. This initiative is based
on the 2004 Produce Safety Action Plan, intended to minimize the incidence of
food borne illness associated with the consumption of fresh produce.
FDA continues to work closely with
the CDC and state and local agencies to determine the cause and scope of the E.
coli 0157:H7 outbreak in spinach. Please check www.fda.gov for updates.
Organic Vegetable and Crop Outreach Specialist
C.S. Mott Sustainable Food Systems
303 Natural Resources Bldg.
517-353-3542
517-282-3557 (cell)
517-353-3834 (fax)
http://safs.msu.edu/
http://www.mottgroup.msu.edu/
