In a legal petition filed with Gov, Arnold Schwarzenegger and California Department of Health Services Director Sandra Shewry, Caroline Smith DeWaal, CSPI food safety director, said mandatory regulations governing manure, water and sanitation on farms could help reduce the number of produce-borne food outbreaks, such as the recent outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 traced to California-farmed spinach.
"California should implement standards to protect its consumers and its produce industry, instead of waiting for Congress or one of the federal agencies with food safety responsibilities to step in," DeWaal said. "This is clearly a case where prompt action at the state level could prevent future outbreaks."
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