Western Growers said Tuesday that it will work to initiate a California Marketing Agreement and a Marketing Order that will establish mandatory Good Agriculture Practices (GAP) for spinach and leafy green food safety procedures.
The goal is to enhance mandatory food safety processes on all aspects of growing, packing, processing and shipping of spinach and leafy greens. Enforcement will be overseen by state and federal government regulatory agencies.
“Our industry is at a crossroads,” said Tom Nassif, president and CEO of Western Growers. “The consuming public, lawmakers, state and federal government agencies, as well as our members want greater assurances that the board of directors will help ensure that improved food safety standards are universally understood and adhered to.”
Western Growers is an agriculture trade association whose members grow, pack and ship 90 percent of the fresh fruits, nuts and vegetables grown in California and 75 percent of those commodities in Arizona.