How Is Your Co-op Responding to the Peanut/Salmonella Issue?
We are deeply troubled by the peanut /Salmonella issue and are monitoring recalls to pull impacted products from our shelves. The situation underscores the need for a stricter, more comprehensive inspection process and we hope that the Obama administration will help move us in that direction.

Regional/Local Food Systems Can Help Improve Food Safety Issues
The peanut/Salmonella situation also raises issues about the vulnerability we face as a result of a hugely centralized food system where a relatively small player, like Peanut Corporation of America, can have such a large impact nationwide on so many products. We advocate for more local and regionalized products for many reasons such as helping to strengthen local and regional economies and reducing environmental impact. Another key reason includes food safety. Regional and local products tend to be easier to trace back to the origins due to more limited distribution making it easier to address food safety issues more quickly.

Organic and Conventional Products Impacted by Poor Food Handling and Centralized Food Processing
The fact that organic products have been included in the recall has nothing to do with the fact that they are organic. Conventional and organic products both have been affected by tainted peanuts as a result of being part of poor food handling in a centralized food processing system. We hope that the silver lining in this troubling situation is that our nation’s food safety issues will be addressed more urgently and comprehensively now and in the future.