Industry readies for possible changes from leafy greens marketing order
Industry readies for possible changes from leafy greens marketing order
SALINAS, CA -- A state hearing on a marketing agreement that would involve a dozen or so green leafy vegetables was drawing strong interest leading into the Jan. 12 hearing at the Monterey County Fairgrounds in Monterey, CA.
The hearing and the effort to gain a marketing agreement are being conducted by the California Department of Food & Agriculture at the behest of fresh produce industry associations.
Western Growers Association, whose members grow, pack and ship 90 percent of the fresh vegetables and 70 percent of the fruits and nuts in California and Arizona, has taken a lead role in the effort. The California Farm Bureau also has played a key role in the effort.
The two-part effort -- aimed at the industry in California only -- involves the growing and handling of a dozen or so green leafy vegetables, including lettuces and, of course, spinach. The Jan. 12 hearing was set up to gauge interest in establishing a marketing agreement. That agreement would be a voluntary accord that would commit handlers to follow food safety, or best practices rules, in processing leafy greens. Handlers are defined as everyone in the food chain beyond the farm level who is involved in getting the product to the consumer. The marketing agreement is aimed at them; those interested sign up for it.
A marketing order would be aimed at growers who supply product to these handlers and would be a mandated accord by which all growers involved in the affected products would have to abide. Growers not adhering to the order would be subject to fines, sanctions and cease-and-desist actions.
Nancy Lungren, deputy secretary of the California Department of Food & Agriculture's office of public affairs, said that to obtain a marketing agreement, at least 25 handlers must agree to it and those handlers must control something like 87 percent or more of the crop. A marketing agreement is being drafted and CDFA is readying staff to conduct audits. CDFA will have 10 days following the Jan. 12 hearing to decide if there is enough interest to move forward with a marketing agreement. If CDFA determines that there is not enough support for a marketing agreement, then the industry can request that CDFA hold another public hearing -- CDFA would not undertake that effort on its own.
At the earliest, a marketing agreement could be in place by early February, and the earliest a marketing order could be in place is sometime in March, Ms. Lungren said, and hopefully in time for the spring-summer harvest in the Salinas Valley and surrounding areas.
Tim Chelling, a spokesman for Western Growers Association, said that the effort is a collaborative one with trade associations and the CDFA. "We're seeking uniformity of standards at the highest possible level," Mr. Chelling said, adding that the "mood is eager [and] everyone is ready to take substantial action."
Mr. Chelling referred to the effort as a "watershed action" following the E. coli outbreak associated with spinach in recent months.
Salinas-based Tanimura & Antle recently announced upgrades to its food- safety program that it requires its growers to follow. Bob Mills, newly hired director of food safety and quality assurance at T&A, said that the company would have representation at the Jan.12 hearing and expected to have a clearer determination of the two-part effort following the hearing.
Joe Pezzini of Castroville, CA-based Ocean Mist Farms and chairman of Salinas-based Grower-Shipper Association of Central California, is involved in the effort to adopt updated "best practices." The effort involved taking the leafy greens guidance document that was unveiled in April as a jumping-off point, he said. When the details are ironed out, the marketing agreement's best practices will include specs on water, soil amendments and wildlife.
Developed by the industry and upgraded over many years, California likely has the most stringent food-safety standards anywhere. But that's not to say those standards can not be ratcheted up further, Mr. Pezzini said. He pointed to water testing as one area that calls for closer review.
"There's never been a standard to say a water test is a good reading or not," Mr. Pezzini said. That is an area that can have a measure for handlers and for the growers who grow for them. Other areas that can be upgraded include buffer zones for adjacent land use. It may be that risk assessment language could be included that provides for a risk assessment on a case-by-case basis, Mr. Pezzini said.
Mr. Pezzini said he wasn't sure what the mood of the industry was leading into Friday's public hearing. "Most of the industry has been so concentrated on the metrics [of a marketing agreement]," Mr. Pezzini said, adding that he thinks the industry supports having a marketing agreement.
"The industry wants something that propels food safety to another level," he added.
But not everyone is enamored with the idea of a marketing agreement and a marketing order.
John Baillie of Salinas-based Baillie Family Farms/Tri-Counties Packing said he believes that the effort is flawed for several reasons and offers only a "Band-Aid" to food-safety problems. "I hate to give false hope to consumers," he said. "God forbid something happens in the next 12 months."
Mr. Baillie said that California producers would be at a disadvantage in the marketplace, competing with all the other states where green leafy vegetables are grown. California producers will have to pay assessments if the state goes forward with a marketing agreement. He said that he would like to see any such efforts run by a collaboration between the Food & Drug Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
In addition, the Jan. 12 hearing moves the industry toward making corrections when information on the cause of the E. coli outbreak in spinach is incomplete and has been slow in coming from the FDA, Mr. Baillie said.
State Sen. Dean Florez (D-Shafter) chairs the Senate Governmental Organization Committee that conducted a three-hour hearing on the issue last fall. He said recently that he believes the industry's combined efforts with the CDFA don't go far enough and that he will introduce legislation proposing new food-safety rules for leafy greens by the end of January.
The hearing and the effort to gain a marketing agreement are being conducted by the California Department of Food & Agriculture at the behest of fresh produce industry associations.
Western Growers Association, whose members grow, pack and ship 90 percent of the fresh vegetables and 70 percent of the fruits and nuts in California and Arizona, has taken a lead role in the effort. The California Farm Bureau also has played a key role in the effort.
The two-part effort -- aimed at the industry in California only -- involves the growing and handling of a dozen or so green leafy vegetables, including lettuces and, of course, spinach. The Jan. 12 hearing was set up to gauge interest in establishing a marketing agreement. That agreement would be a voluntary accord that would commit handlers to follow food safety, or best practices rules, in processing leafy greens. Handlers are defined as everyone in the food chain beyond the farm level who is involved in getting the product to the consumer. The marketing agreement is aimed at them; those interested sign up for it.
A marketing order would be aimed at growers who supply product to these handlers and would be a mandated accord by which all growers involved in the affected products would have to abide. Growers not adhering to the order would be subject to fines, sanctions and cease-and-desist actions.
Nancy Lungren, deputy secretary of the California Department of Food & Agriculture's office of public affairs, said that to obtain a marketing agreement, at least 25 handlers must agree to it and those handlers must control something like 87 percent or more of the crop. A marketing agreement is being drafted and CDFA is readying staff to conduct audits. CDFA will have 10 days following the Jan. 12 hearing to decide if there is enough interest to move forward with a marketing agreement. If CDFA determines that there is not enough support for a marketing agreement, then the industry can request that CDFA hold another public hearing -- CDFA would not undertake that effort on its own.
At the earliest, a marketing agreement could be in place by early February, and the earliest a marketing order could be in place is sometime in March, Ms. Lungren said, and hopefully in time for the spring-summer harvest in the Salinas Valley and surrounding areas.
Tim Chelling, a spokesman for Western Growers Association, said that the effort is a collaborative one with trade associations and the CDFA. "We're seeking uniformity of standards at the highest possible level," Mr. Chelling said, adding that the "mood is eager [and] everyone is ready to take substantial action."
Mr. Chelling referred to the effort as a "watershed action" following the E. coli outbreak associated with spinach in recent months.
Salinas-based Tanimura & Antle recently announced upgrades to its food- safety program that it requires its growers to follow. Bob Mills, newly hired director of food safety and quality assurance at T&A, said that the company would have representation at the Jan.12 hearing and expected to have a clearer determination of the two-part effort following the hearing.
Joe Pezzini of Castroville, CA-based Ocean Mist Farms and chairman of Salinas-based Grower-Shipper Association of Central California, is involved in the effort to adopt updated "best practices." The effort involved taking the leafy greens guidance document that was unveiled in April as a jumping-off point, he said. When the details are ironed out, the marketing agreement's best practices will include specs on water, soil amendments and wildlife.
Developed by the industry and upgraded over many years, California likely has the most stringent food-safety standards anywhere. But that's not to say those standards can not be ratcheted up further, Mr. Pezzini said. He pointed to water testing as one area that calls for closer review.
"There's never been a standard to say a water test is a good reading or not," Mr. Pezzini said. That is an area that can have a measure for handlers and for the growers who grow for them. Other areas that can be upgraded include buffer zones for adjacent land use. It may be that risk assessment language could be included that provides for a risk assessment on a case-by-case basis, Mr. Pezzini said.
Mr. Pezzini said he wasn't sure what the mood of the industry was leading into Friday's public hearing. "Most of the industry has been so concentrated on the metrics [of a marketing agreement]," Mr. Pezzini said, adding that he thinks the industry supports having a marketing agreement.
"The industry wants something that propels food safety to another level," he added.
But not everyone is enamored with the idea of a marketing agreement and a marketing order.
John Baillie of Salinas-based Baillie Family Farms/Tri-Counties Packing said he believes that the effort is flawed for several reasons and offers only a "Band-Aid" to food-safety problems. "I hate to give false hope to consumers," he said. "God forbid something happens in the next 12 months."
Mr. Baillie said that California producers would be at a disadvantage in the marketplace, competing with all the other states where green leafy vegetables are grown. California producers will have to pay assessments if the state goes forward with a marketing agreement. He said that he would like to see any such efforts run by a collaboration between the Food & Drug Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
In addition, the Jan. 12 hearing moves the industry toward making corrections when information on the cause of the E. coli outbreak in spinach is incomplete and has been slow in coming from the FDA, Mr. Baillie said.
State Sen. Dean Florez (D-Shafter) chairs the Senate Governmental Organization Committee that conducted a three-hour hearing on the issue last fall. He said recently that he believes the industry's combined efforts with the CDFA don't go far enough and that he will introduce legislation proposing new food-safety rules for leafy greens by the end of January.
