Western Growers Leaders Nassif & Giclas Honored With ‘Golden Checkmark’ Award

Honolulu, HI – Two leaders from Western Growers were honored with the California Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement’s (LGMA) “Golden Checkmark” Award during the organization’s 88th Annual Meeting and Convention being held in Honolulu, HI this week.

Western Growers President and CEO Tom Nassif and Vice President of Science, Technology and Strategic Planning Hank Giclas were presented with this award, which recognizes support for mandatory government inspection of food safety systems in the produce industry, for their critical role in creating the LGMA.  The award was presented by LGMA CEO Scott Horsfall and current LGMA Board Chairman Ryan Talley.

“We are honoring Tom Nassif and Hank Giclas today with the LGMA’s Golden Checkmark Award because without them, the LGMA simply would not have been possible,” said Horsfall. “We cannot express enough how beneficial this program has been for leafy green farmers and handlers.  More importantly, it has been tremendously beneficial for consumers who want to enjoy the safest leafy greens possible.”

The LGMA was created in the aftermath of an E. coli outbreak attributed to California grown spinach.  The farming community needed a way to produce safer leafy greens and to regain consumer confidence. Under the guidance of Western Growers, the LGMA was developed as the solution. Nassif and Giclas were instrumental in developing this first-of-its-kind program which invites government auditors on the farm to verify a set of science-based food safety practices are being followed. 

“Today, we are honoring two individuals who worked tirelessly to create this important program,” said Ryan Talley, of Talley Farms in San Luis Obispo, CA. “Ironically, with all the talk about the Food Safety Modernization Act and government oversight of food safety in produce, what often gets lost in the discussion is that the leafy greens community has operated with government oversight since 2007.”

“It is certainly an honor to receive this award,” said Hank Giclas.  “Tom Nassif and I have spent many years working to enhance the safety of leafy greens, so the validation of that work by the California Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement is both satisfying and appreciated.” 

Nassif and Giclas follow a long line of distinguished Golden Checkmark Award honorees. The first Golden Checkmark Award was presented in 2009 to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger for his leadership and foresight in creating this unique, unprecedented public-private partnership.  Subsequently, A.G. Kawamura who was head of the Schwarzenegger Administration’s Department of Food and Agriculture at the time the LGMA was created, received the award in 2010. Other past recipients include:  the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, which requires that all leafy greens exported into Canada be produced by LGMA-certified handlers; Bill Pool, Wegmans; Tim York, Markon; Mike Spinazzola, Subway; and Joe Pezzini, OceanMist, who served as the first chairman of the LGMA

The California LGMA operates with oversight from the California Department of Food and Agriculture. Currently there are over 100 certified handlers who have been verified by government audit to be in 100 percent compliance with all required food safety practices.  A similar program also developed with assistance from Western Growers exists in Arizona. Together the programs represent over 90 percent of the leafy greens produced in the United States. For more information about the LGMA please visit www.lgma.ca.gov. For more information about Western Growers and its Annual Meeting, please visit www.wga.com

Source: California Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement’s (LGMA)