Mastronardi food-safety program showcased on CNN
Mastronardi food-safety program showcased on CNN
International news agency CNN featured Kingsville, ON-based North American greenhouse tomato marketer Mastronardi Produce on the "Lou Dobbs Tonight" show on June 30.
With the focus of the produce industry centered on the Salmonella outbreak, CNN correspondent Kitty Pilgrim, sitting in for Lou Dobbs, was quick to point out the key successes of Mastronardi's traceability program.
"We ensure that we are able to track the fruit that we produce. We can walk into any store and pick up one of our 'Sunset' labeled tomatoes and trace it back to the greenhouse where it was grown," Paul Mastronardi, executive vice president of Mastronardi Produce Ltd., said in a press release.
Mastronardi has in place a fully comprehensive food-safety program that encompasses everything from farm to customer. Mastronardi was one of the early companies in the greenhouse industry to implement a robust traceability program, and its protocols require all produce packed under the "Sunset" label to contain the product origin as well as a farm code to trace back to the specific greenhouse in which it was grown, according to the company.
Ms. Pilgrim went on to praise Mastronardi Produce for its on-site laboratory, which is one of only a few in the industry. When Ms. Pilgrim asked Mr. Mastronardi how often tests are conducted on the firm's vegetables, Mr. Mastronardi responded, "Daily."
With the focus of the produce industry centered on the Salmonella outbreak, CNN correspondent Kitty Pilgrim, sitting in for Lou Dobbs, was quick to point out the key successes of Mastronardi's traceability program.
"We ensure that we are able to track the fruit that we produce. We can walk into any store and pick up one of our 'Sunset' labeled tomatoes and trace it back to the greenhouse where it was grown," Paul Mastronardi, executive vice president of Mastronardi Produce Ltd., said in a press release.
Mastronardi has in place a fully comprehensive food-safety program that encompasses everything from farm to customer. Mastronardi was one of the early companies in the greenhouse industry to implement a robust traceability program, and its protocols require all produce packed under the "Sunset" label to contain the product origin as well as a farm code to trace back to the specific greenhouse in which it was grown, according to the company.
Ms. Pilgrim went on to praise Mastronardi Produce for its on-site laboratory, which is one of only a few in the industry. When Ms. Pilgrim asked Mr. Mastronardi how often tests are conducted on the firm's vegetables, Mr. Mastronardi responded, "Daily."
