It's difficult to predict how individuals and organizations will actually react (I'm suspicious of self-reported surveys) but at the PMA foodservice expo the below data was released suggesting that  89% of 510 surveyed restaurant operators would be "willing to pay more for guaranteed-safe fresh fruits, vegetables and leafy greens".

From the press release:

Restaurateurs are willing to pay more for produce that is guaranteed to be safe, according to research unveiled here Saturday during the Produce Marketing Association’s annual Foodservice Conference & Exposition.

Traceability even made it into the discussion:

More than three-fourths, or 76 percent, of the restaurant owners or restaurant purchasing agents interviewed in a nationwide phone survey in April and 10 chain purchasing executives interviewed in June said they would be willing to pay more for produce that was traceable from the farm to the restaurant to enable quicker action when contamination is discovered.

Marketing fresh produce food safety, where producers or wholesalers tell the story of employing GAPs, release data on their sampling strategies and tell folks why what they do is so important is the next step. Don't just stop at the downstream buyers like retailers and foodservice, go right to the consumer.

Calls for mandatory government inspection is akin to mandatory restaurant inspection -- it sets a bare minimum standard, is a snapshot in time, and has little to do with future outbreaks of food poisoning.
Rules and regulations look pretty on paper. But they are not comforting to those 76 million Americans who get sick from the food and water they consume each and every year. Instead, every grower, packer, distributor, retailer and consumer needs to adopt a culture that actually values safe food.

And market it. Tell the world, put all the information on your website. Tweet what you're doing. Put up webcams.

The caveat is that you have to be able to back it up -- that you are employing the best available science and management strategies to reduce risk.

The first company that can assure consumers they aren't eating poop on fresh produce, will make millions and capture markets.

The New York Times continues the fascination with all things Obama this morning as it reports on First Lady Michelle’s focus on fresh produce.

“You know, we want to make sure our guests here and across the nation are eating nutritious items. Collect some fruits and vegetables; bring by some good healthy food. We can provide this kind of healthy food for communities across the country, and we can do it by each of us lending a hand.”

In a speech at the Department of Agriculture last month, Mrs. Obama described herself as “a big believer” in community gardens that provide “fresh fruits and vegetables for so many communities across this nation and world.”

I am too. Brought the seedlings in yesterday as a temporary cold snap hit Kansas, but the greens and asparagus will soon be sprouting from the family garden. I also know fresh produce is also the biggest source of foodborne illness today in the U.S. That’s because it’s fresh, and anything that comes into contact has the potential to contaminate.

So, yeah Michelle, promote the produce, but organic and local do not mean safe. Play up those producers who responsibly manage microbial risks. And if you’re going to put your kids dining habits front and center, you really don’t want them barfing.

Kristen Schaal, otherwise known as Mel from Flight of the Conchords, offered her take on First Lady Michelle last night on the Daily Show.