Agreement sets compliance audit start date
Agreement sets compliance audit start date
The California leafy greens industry has set July 23 as the date when mandatory food-safety audits of its members will begin.
Acting at its board meeting Friday, June 29, in Santa Maria, CA, the California Leafy Green Products Marketing Agreement unanimously approved a start date for mandatory compliance audits of its members and finalized other key aspects of its program, said Joe Pezzini, chairman of the agreement.
"The steps we are taking are part of our industry's unprecedented commitment to food safety," Mr. Pezzini said. "Beginning July 23, we will begin to certify to our customers that California lettuce, spinach and other leafy greens have been grown to the highest food-safety standards available."
Scott Horsfall, chief executive officer of the agreement, said that he anticipates that by the end of the month inspectors will get out to all handlers who have leafy green harvesting operations underway. Desert areas are not currently in production, so inspections for those handlers will come later. There are at least 10 inspectors handling the workload, he said.
The length of time necessary to conduct an initial audit depends on the size of the business. An audit can take one day for smaller handlers and perhaps as many as three days for a larger handler, Mr. Horsfall said. The task involves auditing all growers that a handler uses, he said.
Along with setting the start date for mandatory compliance audits, the LGMA board has opened the signup period for membership for the rest of the year. "We continue to hear from industry members who want to join the marketing agreement," Mr. Horsfall said. "As this is a new organization, and in the interest of food safety, we decided to open up membership for the rest of this fiscal year."
Mr. Horsfall said that about a half-dozen handlers not signed on to the agreement contacted him recently. He said that he anticipates that everyone interested in signing up will do so "within the month."
"We think everyone should be onboard" for the interest of the industry, Mr. Horsfall said, adding that handlers will find that buyers are looking to buy from LGMA members.
Canada previously announced that it would accept California leafy green products only from LGMA members.
It's good to have every handler who plans to be a member of the agreement signed on by the start of the production cycle, Mr. Horsfall said. So far, more than 100 handlers accounting for about 99 percent of California's leafy greens volume have signed on to the agreement.
The Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement was formed in response to the E. coli outbreak that was linked to California fresh spinach last year. The marketing agreement requires signatories to implement and maintain the highest standards of safety in growing and handling spinach, lettuce and other leafy greens.
Acting at its board meeting Friday, June 29, in Santa Maria, CA, the California Leafy Green Products Marketing Agreement unanimously approved a start date for mandatory compliance audits of its members and finalized other key aspects of its program, said Joe Pezzini, chairman of the agreement.
"The steps we are taking are part of our industry's unprecedented commitment to food safety," Mr. Pezzini said. "Beginning July 23, we will begin to certify to our customers that California lettuce, spinach and other leafy greens have been grown to the highest food-safety standards available."
Scott Horsfall, chief executive officer of the agreement, said that he anticipates that by the end of the month inspectors will get out to all handlers who have leafy green harvesting operations underway. Desert areas are not currently in production, so inspections for those handlers will come later. There are at least 10 inspectors handling the workload, he said.
The length of time necessary to conduct an initial audit depends on the size of the business. An audit can take one day for smaller handlers and perhaps as many as three days for a larger handler, Mr. Horsfall said. The task involves auditing all growers that a handler uses, he said.
Along with setting the start date for mandatory compliance audits, the LGMA board has opened the signup period for membership for the rest of the year. "We continue to hear from industry members who want to join the marketing agreement," Mr. Horsfall said. "As this is a new organization, and in the interest of food safety, we decided to open up membership for the rest of this fiscal year."
Mr. Horsfall said that about a half-dozen handlers not signed on to the agreement contacted him recently. He said that he anticipates that everyone interested in signing up will do so "within the month."
"We think everyone should be onboard" for the interest of the industry, Mr. Horsfall said, adding that handlers will find that buyers are looking to buy from LGMA members.
Canada previously announced that it would accept California leafy green products only from LGMA members.
It's good to have every handler who plans to be a member of the agreement signed on by the start of the production cycle, Mr. Horsfall said. So far, more than 100 handlers accounting for about 99 percent of California's leafy greens volume have signed on to the agreement.
The Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement was formed in response to the E. coli outbreak that was linked to California fresh spinach last year. The marketing agreement requires signatories to implement and maintain the highest standards of safety in growing and handling spinach, lettuce and other leafy greens.
