'A very robust conversation': Farmers, FDA discuss new food safety standards

TIFTON — The Produce Safety Project held a conference Thursday at the Rural Development Center in order to get feedback from farmers abroad on new safety standards. The Food and Drug Administration will propose the new standards later this year.

The conference was held to discuss four main categories: Composting issues, irrigation and water, worker health and hygiene and wildlife and environmental concerns.

“It is a very robust conversation,” Jim O’Hara, director of the Produce Safety Project, said. “We are learning a lot about farmers concerns and how to make it work for everyone. We want to make sure that we set a standard that works for everybody.”

Key speakers included Mike Doyle from the University of Georgia, Trevor Suslow from the University of California, Davis, Marvin Pritts from Cornell University and Karen Lowell from the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Beth Bland, from the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Association, said she was pleased with the way the conference was handled.

“I am pleased for the FDA to come to our kitchen table to talk about these issues,” Bland said. “Often the perception is that the government in Washington develops the rules and hands them down with an almighty fist. It is nice to see them coming to the producers that it will affect and ask their opinions.”

The conference will have a drastic effect on Americans as it is estimated that there are slightly more than one million hired farm workers employed in the United States. The decisions that the FDA makes will affect farmers from across the country.

Peter Germishuisen, Food Safety Controller for the local business Lewis Taylor Farms, was pleased with the way that the FDA made changes and talked to the farmers that will be affected.

“It’s a tremendous change that they have come here to ask us for our opinions,” Germishuisen said. “You need a standard for all, whether it be a big farmer or a small one. You must find out not only what is reasonable, but what is practical for the farmer.”

The goals were for the FDA to have a better understanding of the farmers' needs while still keeping the operation at a smooth and safe pace for consumers.

To contact reporter Steven Stubbs, call 382-4321.

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