Ads by Google Ads by Google

DOA closes down Taputimu farm

For the safety and well-being of local youth, a farm in Taputimu was closed down last week, after inspectors discovered that the owners were mixing water with chicken manure, and using the mixture as fertilizer for cabbage.

 

Right now, a ban on the sale of locally grown bok choi (either in the local stores or on the road side) is still in effect. This came after the cabbage was found to have dirt, snails, and worms on the leaves.

 

Because local farmers provide food supplies for the federally funded School Lunch Program, it is the territory’s youngest residents who are consuming the cabbage and that is why the Dept. of Agriculture continues to monitor local farms and keep track of their farming practices, in an effort to keep kids from getting sick, according to the DOA.

 

For now, the DOA is working on getting a residue testing machine, one that will be able to test for chemicals on locally grown produce items. (See elsewhere in today’s paper about Senators asking about the machine during Senate Agriculture Committee held last week.

 

EDITOR'S CORRECTION AND CLARIFICATION

This story requires additional clarification and correction.

 

There is a business called Taputimu Farms in Taputimu which is a poultry farm.

 

The poultry farm was not closed down.

 

The first paragraph of the story, does state that a farm in Taputimu was closed down by Agriculture, however the farm in question was a vegetable farm.

 

Samoa News apologies to the family-owned Taputimu Farms for the unintended error.