Fresh Express joins California leafy greens agreement
Fresh Express joins California leafy greens agreement
Citing progress made to the metrics of the California Leafy Green Products Handler Marketing Agreement as well as trade association involvement, Salinas, CA-based Fresh Express decided March 31 to sign on to the agreement.
Implementation of the agreement began Sunday, April 1. Fresh Express' previous reluctance to sign on had set the company apart as the lone holdout among companies with significant volume and impact on the California leafy greens industry.
Fresh Express President Tanios Viviani speculated that with Fresh Express climbing onboard, close to 100 percent of the state's leafy greens volume is now accounted for under the agreement. He said the agreement has evolved to where Fresh Express has come to believe in it, citing improvements to the agreement that include strengthened Good Agricultural Practices metrics, a commitment to extend the agreement into other states beginning with Arizona, a refusal to use the agreement for promotional purposes and support for the agreement from industrywide organizations that include the Produce Marketing Association, United Fresh Produce Association, California Farm Bureau Federation and the National Restaurant Association.
The National Restaurant Association signed on to the agreement March 30. Mr. Viviani told The Produce News Monday, April 2 that NRA's involvement was a positive sign that the agreement -- which has undergone numerous revisions -- was heading in the right direction.
"We support the idea of initiating this in other states," Mr. Viviani said.
He added that Fresh Express' food-safety standards and practices are already "significantly more comprehensive and exceed those outlined in the California Leafy Greens Handler Food-Safety Agreement" and that the company's food- safety programs "are already fully integrated from seed to customer, comprehensive in scope and focus on prevention."
Whereas the agreement focuses on growing only, Fresh Express' food-safety program is more integrated and covers all steps from seed to grower, harvest, cooler, processor, logistics and warehouses. A grower needs to be certified by Fresh Express before the grower can do business with the company. Fresh Express also certifies fields and the harvest before crops are harvested.
"I'm confident we have the right leaders engaged in making [the marketing agreement] happen," Mr. Viviani said, adding that a lot of progress has been made in recent months and that implementation of the agreement is "critical." "Once consumers see fresh, healthy and safe produce on the shelves, they will come back," Mr. Viviani said.
The real issue is for consumers to continue eating fresh produce. Category growth has suffered as a result of episodes such as the E. coli outbreak in fresh spinach, he said.
United Fresh Produce Association President Tom Stenzel released a statement that the decision by Fresh Express "to support the California Leafy Greens Food-Safety Agreement demonstrates the company's ongoing support for strong food-safety standards."
Mr. Stenzel said that while Fresh Express' own standards for its growers may already include all of the food-safety steps called for in the agreement, the company "nevertheless is committing its technical leadership and financial support to boost these industrywide efforts."
Mr. Stenzel also said that in United's discussions with company leaders, "it was clear that Fresh Express made this decision in the spirit of industry unity and a commitment to working together to help our entire industry deliver safe and healthy fresh produce to the public."
Implementation of the agreement began Sunday, April 1. Fresh Express' previous reluctance to sign on had set the company apart as the lone holdout among companies with significant volume and impact on the California leafy greens industry.
Fresh Express President Tanios Viviani speculated that with Fresh Express climbing onboard, close to 100 percent of the state's leafy greens volume is now accounted for under the agreement. He said the agreement has evolved to where Fresh Express has come to believe in it, citing improvements to the agreement that include strengthened Good Agricultural Practices metrics, a commitment to extend the agreement into other states beginning with Arizona, a refusal to use the agreement for promotional purposes and support for the agreement from industrywide organizations that include the Produce Marketing Association, United Fresh Produce Association, California Farm Bureau Federation and the National Restaurant Association.
The National Restaurant Association signed on to the agreement March 30. Mr. Viviani told The Produce News Monday, April 2 that NRA's involvement was a positive sign that the agreement -- which has undergone numerous revisions -- was heading in the right direction.
"We support the idea of initiating this in other states," Mr. Viviani said.
He added that Fresh Express' food-safety standards and practices are already "significantly more comprehensive and exceed those outlined in the California Leafy Greens Handler Food-Safety Agreement" and that the company's food- safety programs "are already fully integrated from seed to customer, comprehensive in scope and focus on prevention."
Whereas the agreement focuses on growing only, Fresh Express' food-safety program is more integrated and covers all steps from seed to grower, harvest, cooler, processor, logistics and warehouses. A grower needs to be certified by Fresh Express before the grower can do business with the company. Fresh Express also certifies fields and the harvest before crops are harvested.
"I'm confident we have the right leaders engaged in making [the marketing agreement] happen," Mr. Viviani said, adding that a lot of progress has been made in recent months and that implementation of the agreement is "critical." "Once consumers see fresh, healthy and safe produce on the shelves, they will come back," Mr. Viviani said.
The real issue is for consumers to continue eating fresh produce. Category growth has suffered as a result of episodes such as the E. coli outbreak in fresh spinach, he said.
United Fresh Produce Association President Tom Stenzel released a statement that the decision by Fresh Express "to support the California Leafy Greens Food-Safety Agreement demonstrates the company's ongoing support for strong food-safety standards."
Mr. Stenzel said that while Fresh Express' own standards for its growers may already include all of the food-safety steps called for in the agreement, the company "nevertheless is committing its technical leadership and financial support to boost these industrywide efforts."
Mr. Stenzel also said that in United's discussions with company leaders, "it was clear that Fresh Express made this decision in the spirit of industry unity and a commitment to working together to help our entire industry deliver safe and healthy fresh produce to the public."
