May 30, 2018Leafy greens industry forms task force to address outbreaks
Arizona and California Leafy Greens Marketing Agreements, the Produce Marketing Association, United Fresh Produce Association, Western Growers and other stakeholders in the produce industry have formed a Leafy Greens Food Safety Task Force designed to assess and address issues associated with recent foodborne illness outbreaks attributed to consumption of leafy greens and to prevent such a tragedy from occurring in the future.
“Like many of you, we have questions about how romaine lettuce came to be the source of this recent outbreak,” a news release from the task force stated. “As families, farmers, and scientists who grow the food served at your tables and our own, we need to make sure that leafy greens are safe.
California and Arizona produce over 50 billion servings of leafy greens every year to American consumers. The leafy greens community shares a common goal to strengthen the way our food is grown, harvested and distributed. The purpose of this task force is to sharpen our food safety systems through the entire supply chain.”
Leafy Greens Food Safety Task Force Steering Committee
Steering Committee Co-Chairs:
Jerry Muldoon, Dole Fresh, Arizona
Steve Church, Church Brothers, California
Steering Committee Members
John Boelts, Desert Premium Farms
Mary Campbell, Yuma Safe Produce Council
Bonnie Fernandez-Fenaroli, Center for Produce Safety
Ed Foster, Arizona Dept. of Agriculture
Hank Giclas/Sonia Salas, Western Growers
Scott Horsfall, California Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement
Natalie Krout-Greenberg, California Department of Food and Agriculture
Teressa Lopez, Arizona Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement
Drew McDonald, Taylor Farms
Jennifer McEntire, United Fresh Produce Association
Vicki-Lynne Scott, Amigo Farms
Victor Smith, JV Smith Companies
Abby Taylor, Grower-Shipper Association of Central California
Michael Taylor, STOP Foodborne Illness
Shelly Tunis, Yuma Fresh Vegetable Association
Jack Vessey, Vessey Farms
Kami Weddle, Rousseau Farms
Bob Whitaker, Produce Marketing Association
Federal agencies will be involved on a collaborative basis, serving as technical and informational advisors to the task force.
– April Ward, California LGMA
