Moving Food Safety Forward

Moving Food Safety Forward. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Fruit Grower Report.

Hank Giclas, Vice President, Strategic Planning, Science & Technology for the Western Growers Association says they have now integrated water testing as part of the leafy greens standard.

GICLAS: "Now we have a very large database, or data set if you will, on water quality throughout California and Arizona.  To the point where we will be able to modify those types of recommendations over time. But there are a hundred other points of contention associated with food safety programs."

That is where the term pushback comes in.

GICLAS: "How do we coordinate food safety with organic rules? The list goes on, and depending on your operation, your perspective and production practices, you may have the opportunity or desire to pushback on tenants of different food safety programs."

Giclas was talking to the Horticulture Association during their annual meeting as to how the produce industry guideline could also apply to the fruit industry.

GICLAS: "When we reacted to the 2006 outbreak of E. coli 0157 in spinach, one of the things that Western Growers did almost immediately following that was work with industry experts, academics and the regulatory community to come up with a new set of even more commodity specific metrics or practices for leafy greens.

That’s today’s Fruit Grower Report. I’m Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.