The Rural Voice, 1998-03, Page 23found out too late some growers were
using windfall apples off the ground.
It claimed it didn't know E. coli
0157:H7 was a potential problem in
cider but the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration had wamed producers
that the bacteria had mutated to be
able to survive acids in foods.
When a grand jury investigated
the matter, it found the "all natural"
juice company had routinely added
sweeteners to its juice. The company
had experienced tremendous growth
and in trying to meet the demand had
stopped using a chlorine wash to
clean its equipment. "They forgot the
basics when they got greedy," Powell
said.
When there is a public
uproar, Powell said, the
first response is to ignore
the problem. As the problem of
resistance to antibiotics becomes
more of a concern, the attention of
the public is turning to the use of
antibiotics in livestock. The real
abuse of antibiotics may be in
"Urbanites don't want to
change. They want
farmers to change."
humans through overprescribing, but
parents feel they have some control
over human use — animal use is
beyond their control. "Urbanites
don't want to change. They want
farmers to change," Powell said.
So far, the response of
pharmaceutical companies has been
to claim that the concerns of animal
use are "bad science". "That doesn't
cut it. It's not bad science, only
uncertain science." He wondered
how the companies would respond
the first time someone dies from
antibiotic resistance.
There's an information gap
between the scientific assessment of
risk and the public perception of risk,
he said.
The food industry must involve
the public as a legitimate partner,
Powell said. "Trust is the most
important factor. Be aware of the
factors that inspire trust. Pay
attention to the process. Involve the
public from the outset. Get the facts
straight. Avoid secret meetings."
Trust is linked to perceptions of
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MARCH 1998 19