The biggest food safety risk for fresh
fruits and vegetables as they are grown, picked or processed comes from human
and animal waste, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said
Friday. More than 9,000 Americans die each year from food-borne
diseases and some scientists believe fresh produce is the biggest carrier of
contamination. The FDA issued a set of draft guidelines for US
and foreign growers to carefully monitor worker hygiene, water quality, manure
management and transportation. These 34-page draft guidelines
urged growers to give workers lessons on basic hygiene such as using soap to
wash their hands, coveting wounds that could come into contact with produce, and
using only clean toilets. The FDA guidelines identified "the
major source of contamination" for fresh produce as human or animal
feces. "We think just proper controls and proper attention to
detail would make a big difference in food safety," said an FDA official. "It is
our belief that these guidelines would not be very costly." But
grower groups disagreed with the FDA's assessment. "Most food-borne disease
outbreaks that happen further down the distribution line are due to
contamination because people preparing food are not properly washing their
hands," said Stacey Zawal, an official with United Fresh Fruit and Vegetable
Association. "That is not necessarily true for growers and packers."
Some US grower organizations have expressed concern that the agency is
interfering with on-farm practices. Others object to the FDA's proposal to have
growers formally document the picking, handling and transportation of produce so
that health officials could quickly recall foods if necessary.
Consumer groups criticized the FDA guidelines as of little use because they will
not carry the force of law. But stricter regulations could evolve as researchers
find new technology or methods to kill harmful bacteria or parasites, the FDA
said. The FDA recommendations are due to be made final by the
FDA later this year for use by US and foreign growers. The matter of encouraging
foreign growers to adopt the guidelines remains somewhat tricky but FDA
officials say it is vital because of the huge amount of imported produce.
单选题
"Food-borne diseases" in this essay means those diseases ______.
A. which people get by eating fruits and vegetables which have been
polluted
B. which people get by eating too many kinds of food
C. which many kinds of fruit get when polluted by feces
D. which fruit-growers get by their failure to keep themselves
clean