LGMA's plan to make romaine safer

Last week the FDA issued a report on its investigation of what was actually three distinct outbreaks occurring in the fall of 2019.  In the report, the e. coli strain linked to one of these outbreaks along with other STEC strains were detected in samples taken from cattle grazing land in proximity to where romaine lettuce crops were grown.

The FDA has stated it believes ruminants, most likely cattle, are the source of contamination in these outbreaks, but exactly how the pathogens end up on leafy greens remains a mystery.

“As leafy greens farmers we are committed to doing everything possible to make sure our products are safe,” said Dan Sutton, a leafy greens farmer and chairman of the LGMA. “If we knew what additional precautions could keep pathogens out of our fields, we would immediately make changes to our food safety program.”

The Subcommittee on Adjacent Lands comprises industry experts from LGMA member companies. They will be working closely with University and government researchers and meticulously examining past and current studies from the Center for Produce Safety and other relevant scientific research. The subcommittee also plans to engage with landowners of properties located near leafy greens farms, including cattle and other crops like wine grapes.

As with all areas of the LGMA’s required food-safety practices, the Adjacent Lands Subcommittee will be making recommendations as part of an open, collaborative process now underway for improving the safety of leafy greens. This process is being facilitate by Western Growers and is currently considering new standards for water used to grow leafy greens and for soil amendments and other crop inputs.

“Leafy greens farmers work hard every day to implement the best-known food safety practices,” said Horsfall.  “Ultimately, the LGMA is the entity charged with updating and improving these standards to better protect consumers. The input provided by the FDA report and the work being done by our subcommittees, researchers and other stakeholders is critical to prevent future outbreaks.”