Here Comes Winter & FDA Sends Warning Letters

Here Comes Winter & FDA Sends Warning Letters plus Food Forethought. I'm Greg Martin with today's Northwest Report. If you have been enjoying the fall weather here in the northwest it just might be a thing of the past as a winter storm system should bring snow especially to the mountains. Oregon and Washington Department of Transportation employees are gearing up for some possible long hours as forecasts are calling for 8-15 inches of snow in the Cascades with snow levels falling to around 2000 feet. Temperatures are expected to drop over the weekend further compounding the situation. Please drive careful if you must travel. Attorney General's from Iowa and Washington are applauding the actions of the FDA to restrict some of the most dangerous alcoholic products targeted toward young adults. Dr. Margaret Hamburg with the Food and Drug Administration says warning letters have been sent to four companies that gives the manufacturers 15 days to respond in writing and inform FDA of the specific steps that each will take to remedy the violation and prevent its recurrence. HAMBURG: After detailed study and analysis FDA has found reason for concern that a number of caffeinated alcoholic beverage products do not meet the legal standard for safety. As a result the agency is moving forward on behalf of public health. Experts have raised the concern that the combination of alcohol and caffeine can mask the normal signs of intoxication leading to a state of "wide awake drunk." Now with today's Food Forethought, here's Lacy Gray. There's a lot to be said for good old common sense. Common sense is an asset in all walks of life and business enterprises; farming is no exception. For farmers the list of requirements to be met in order to do business providing fresh foods to schools and other institutions are generally practices that they already have in place. A sample listing of requirements that fall in part either under the mantle of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization's Good Agricultural Practices or the USDA's GAP audit and certification program include assuring that farm workers wash their hands, wear clean work clothes, and adhere to general sanitation protocol, keeping crops and livestock production separate, using and maintaining clean harvesting and sorting equipment, proper chemical handling, and the protection of well or irrigation water from contamination. To the majority of farmers this list of "good agricultural practices" would already be the equivalent of the "who's who" in just plain old common sense farming, something that they have had in place from day one. Now all farmers need to do is toot their own horn and get it down on paper. Thanks Lacy. That's today's Northwest Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network.