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News
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West Coast berry growers unite for food safety
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2/15/2012
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Article Content Suggested lead
Oregon berry growers are working with their counterparts in Washington and California to proactively ensure that consumers this year get a safe fresh product:
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Audio 01
As the saying goes, one bad apple spoils the whole bunch. Or you might say one bad berry can spoil the entire crate no matter what type of berry it is or specifically where it is grown. Food recalls due to outbreaks of food borne illnesses are catching the attention of berry growers from Oregon, Washington, and California:
BYBEE: "Historically, everything was being recalled from a manufacturer. A great majority of recalls are coming now from the fresh food market." :10
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Audio 02
Vance Bybee of the Oregon Department of Agriculture's Food Safety Division says nobody wants a repeat of last summer's E. coli outbreak traced back to an Oregon strawberry grower in which one person died and several were hospitalized. Berry commissions from the three states have agreed to a proactive, unified food safety plan that should have positive results:
BYBEE: "Consumers of Washington, Oregon, and California berries can be even more assured than ever before that the producers are taking steps to provide them with safe berries." :14
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As part of the unified plan, on-farm, pre-harvest training of berry growers and their workers will take place this spring on proper handling of the fruit. The commissions are also working on a food safety recall plan that will help growers do what is required during a recall of fresh berries- something that hopefully won't be as necessary thanks to this region-wide proactive response. In Salem, I'm Bruce Pokarney.
Additional audio: Audio 03
BYBEE says when Oregon was involved in the fresh strawberry recall last summer, growers of other types of berries up and down the West Coast were watching closely:
"The headlines in the newspaper say, E. coli found in Oregon berries. And to an extent, Washington and California are similarly concerned that if there was an outbreak in Oregon berries, that would also spill over to have some effect on their berry industry as well." :19
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Additional audio: Audio 04
BYBEE commends the berry growers in Oregon, Washington, and California for taking proactive steps against future recalls and food born illness outbreaks:
"The berry industry is looking to be on the cutting edge of food safety. They don't want to be on the defensive side and just wait back until something happens." :11
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Full story
http://oregon.gov/ODA/news/120215berries.shtml
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