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Issues: Food Safety

As part of its commitment to providing consumers at supermarkets and restaurants with safe, nutritious products, the fresh fruit and vegetable industry has devoted considerable attention to food safety. PMA encourages its members to have thorough food safety programs.

PMA supports reasonable, science-based food safety solutions and supports consumer and foodservice worker education on safe food handling. PMA supports federally mandated, risk-based, commodity-specific regulation of fresh produce. Initial efforts on lettuce and leafy greens should build on recent steps already taken at the state level in California. PMA recognizes that the federal process needed to put such a regulatory framework in place may require a multi-stage approach. PMA believes that federal oversight by the Food and Drug Administration should be the final goal of this process. PMA also believes that FDA must be provided with the proper funding to conduct this critical mandate and urges Congress to make this a top priority.

On the consumer front, PMA is a proud supporter of the Partnership for Food Safety Education, particularly the Be Food Safe education campaign.

In 2007, PMA established the Center for Produce Safety at the University of California at Davis. The CPS is a public-private partnership that includes industry, government, academia, and consumer groups with the goal to enhance the safety of fresh fruits and vegetables through research, information exchange, and training worldwide.

Industry Food Safety Guidance Documents/Programs

• Commodity-Specific Food Safety Guidelines for the Lettuce Supply Chain (Lineamientos en Espanol)
• Commodity-Specific Food Safety Guidelines for the Melon Supply Chain (Lineamientos en Espanol)
• Commodity-Specific Food Safety Guidelines for the Fresh Tomato Supply Chain

• California Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement Report on Program Audits, Actions
• California Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement Web site
• California Leafy Greens Food Safety Metrics

• Good Agricultural Practices
• Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point Programs
• Fresh-cut Produce Re-Washing Recommendations for Consumers and Retail/Foodservice Operators
• Canadian Produce Marketing Association Food Safety Program Comparison Report

U.S. Federal Guidance Documents/Initiatives and State Reports

• FDA Food Protection Plan
• Final FDA Fresh-cut Produce Food Safety Guidance
• Final FDA Report on E. Coli Outbreak Linked to Spinach
• Committee on Oversight and Reform Report - FDA and Fresh Spinach Safety: A Failure to Protect”
• FDA Tomato Safety Initiative
• FDA Lettuce Safety Initiative
• FDA Produce Safety Action Plan
• Final FDA Juice HACCP Hazards and Controls Guidance

• USDA Fresh Produce Audit Verification Program
• USDA Report: Outbreak Linked to Spinach Forces Reassessment of Food Safety Practices

PMA Member Food Safety Resources

• New! PMA comments on FDA's Guide to Minimize Microbial Food Safety Hazards for Fresh Fruits and Vegetables (December 30, 2008)
• SCFBA Comments on USDA's Block Grant Program PMA, as a member of the Specialty Crop Farm Bill Alliance, signed onto comments to USDA regarding block grants. (November 2008)
• Ask Dr. Bob audio blog, where we post periodic audio briefings on topics of interest to our members