EWG calls on the members of the board of directors of the agribusiness front group Alliance for Food and Farming as well as the entire industry to step up and do a much better job preventing food-borne illnesses and protecting both consumers and farmworkers from pesticide exposure. They did this by sending an open letter to the produce industry.
"During this time of the coronavirus crisis, the Environmental Working Group stands firmly in defense of food safety for all Americans. We advocate for keeping the nation’s food supply safe from microbial contamination and toxic pesticides," the letter reads.
"In keeping with our mission, EWG challenges the board members of the Alliance for Food and Farming and the organizations they work for to explain to consumers why the produce industry is fighting a key element of the nation’s food safety law that would protect the public from deadly food-borne pathogens."
"It’s been a decade since Congress passed the Food Safety Modernization Act, which gave the Food and Drug Administration the power to set produce safety standards and require fruit and vegetable growers to test their irrigation water for dangerous and deadly pathogens before they water their fields."
The letter concludes: "We urge all members of the AFF board, the outfits they represent and the entire produce industry to step up and do what they must in order to better prevent foodborne illness and protect both farmworkers and consumers from pesticide exposure, rather than attack EWG for providing consumers with information about pesticide residues on fruits and vegetables."
To read the entire letter, click here.
For more information:
Environmental Working Group
Tel: +1 (202) 667-6982
www.ewg.org