--- title: "New standards, seals guaranteeing food safety could be on the way" date: 2008-01-09T01:51:30-08:00 author: Bill Marler canonical_url: "https://marlerclark.com/news_events/new-standards-seals-guaranteeing-food-safety-could-be-on-the-way" section: News --- [All News](/news_events) / [Outbreaks](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/outbreaks) / # New standards, seals guaranteeing food safety could be on the way January 26, 2007 Santa Cruz Sentinel Tom Ragan The Santa Cruz County Farm Bureau is speaking out against legislative attempts to hold leafy green growers more accountable in the event their produce is contaminated with E. coli. It's not that the Farm Bureau doesn't want to head off outbreaks. It just thinks state Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, is going about it the wrong way. Next week, Florez plans to introduce a bill that would impose fines and institute a more intricate system that would track contaminated produce from the fields to the store shelves. The Farm Bureau believes that bill is the wrong route, given that hundreds of farmers across the state are in the midst of imposing stricter safety standards on themselves. "We need the practices that farmers are currently working on to be in place right away in order to gain consumer confidence," said Jess Brown of the county Farm Bureau. "The legislation and the entire process will take more time. And it will be onerous" But Florez, whose district lies in the Central Valley, said it's time the state steps in to avoid future outbreaks of E. coli. "Consumers expect the government to protect their food supply," Florez said in a telephone interview. As it is now, an estimated 700 lettuce growers across the state are working toward setting a new set of guidelines followed by a seal of approval — an attempt to assure buyers California produce has been inspected and handled accordingly. The state Department of Agriculture would oversee the seal approval program, but some have been critical of the self-imposed regulations, saying they are merely a symbolic act on the part of lettuce growers to calm the public. A potent strain of E. coli in spinach killed three and sickened nearly 200 others across the country in September. Some of the grower-proposed regulations include building fences to keep wildlife out, testing the irrigation water more frequently and handling compost and manure with greater care. The legislation virtually mirrors the same precautions, although it would levy fines and require some vegetable farmers to acquire licenses to grow, a measure that would raise the $20 million it would cost the California Department of Health Services to carry out inspections yearly, Florez said. Dick Peixoto, a Pajaro Valley vegetable farmer for three decades, thinks the Legislature should stay out of the growing end of the business. "I just think it's overreaction," he said. "We serve billions of salads a day; not millions, billions. And there was one problem out here. So now we're going to redo the whole industry?" ### Other E. coli Lawsuits [Raw Farms linked to another Raw Milk Cheese E.coli Outbreak - 9 People sickened - Company refuses to recall product](https://marlerclark.com/raw-farms-linked-to-another-raw-milk-cheese-e-coli-outbreak-7-people-sickened) [10 with E. coli linked to Cheese](https://marlerclark.com/3-with-e-coli-linked-to-cheese) [Sycamore Pool in Chico California Contaminated with E.coli - Two teens in ICU](https://marlerclark.com/sycamore-pool-in-chico-california-contaminated-with-e-coli-two-teens-in-icu) [Deadly Nationwide E.coli Outbreak Linked to Grimmway Farms Organic Baby and Whole Carrots sickens 48](https://marlerclark.com/nationwide-e-coli-outbreak-linked-to-grimmway-farms-organic-baby-and-whole-carrots) [E. coli Outbreak tied to Red Cow and Hen House Restaurants](https://marlerclark.com/e-coli-outbreak-tied-to-red-cow-and-hen-house-restaurants) [Rockwood Summit High School E. coli 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The team at Marler Clark is here to answer all your questions. Find out if you’re eligible for a lawsuit, what questions to ask your doctor, and more. [ Get a free consultation ](https://marlerclark.com/contact) ##### Related Resources ###### [E. coli Food Poisoning](https://marlerclark.com/foodborne-illnesses/e-coli/e-coli-food-poisoning) What is E. coli and how does it cause food poisoning? Escherichia coli (E. coli) is a highly studied, common species of bacteria that belongs to the family Enterobacteriaceae, so... ###### [E. coli O157:H7](https://marlerclark.com/foodborne-illnesses/e-coli/e-coli-o157h7) E. coli O157:H7 is a foodborne pathogen that causes food poisoning. E. coli O157:H7 is the most commonly identified and the most notorious Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) serotype in... ###### [Non-O157 STEC](https://marlerclark.com/foodborne-illnesses/e-coli/non-o157-stec) Non-O157 Shiga Toxin-Producing E. coli can also cause food poisoning. E. coli O157:H7 may be the most notorious serotype of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC), but there are at least... ###### [Sources of E. coli](https://marlerclark.com/foodborne-illnesses/e-coli/sources-of-e-coli) Where do E. coli O157:H7 and non-O157 Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) come from? The primary reservoirs, or ultimate sources, of E. coli O157:H7 and non-O157 STEC in nature are... ###### [Transmission of and Infection with E. coli](https://marlerclark.com/foodborne-illnesses/e-coli/transmission-of-and-infection-with-e-coli) While many dairy cattle-associated foodborne disease outbreaks are linked to raw milk and other raw dairy products (e.g., cheeses, butter, ice cream), dairy cattle still represent a source of contamination... ##### Outbreak Database #### Looking for a comprehensive list of outbreaks? The team at Marler Clark is here to answer all your questions. Find out if you’re eligible for a lawsuit, what questions to ask your doctor, and more. 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