Eastern Cantaloupe Growers Association Invites Retail & Foodservice Buyers To Kickoff Meeting

The Eastern Cantaloupe Growers Association invites all retail and foodservice buyers to our kickoff meeting to introduce the ECGA criteria for cantaloupe food safety standards.

Monday, February 11, 2013
The Westin Atlanta Airport Hotel
10:00 AM – 12:00 PM

The ECGA is a group of growers that have come together for the purpose of, enhancing consumer and retail confidence in the Eastern cantaloupe market and supply chain by establishing stringent food safety standards and Best Practice metrics in the production, harvesting and packing of their melons. The ECGA standards are established on, GFSI-benchmarked audit(s) for the farm/field/ranch, harvest, and packing operations.

With Additional food safety requirements specific to Eastern cantaloupe production that include:

– Water
– Soil Amendments
– Worker health and hygiene
– Sanitation
– Harvesting
– Equipment cleaning standards
– At least one unannounced audit during the production season.

The KICKOFF MEETING will provide an overview of the food safety standards members of ECGA will follow, including unannounced audits of their operations during production and harvest.

RSVP is required to attend – Please click here to register.

What is the Eastern Cantaloupe Growers Association™ (ECGA)?

The ECGA™ is a group of eastern cantaloupe growers from AK, AL, FL, GA, IL, IN, MO, NC and other states that have come together to identify ways in which they can work cooperatively to re-establish consumer and retail confidence in the Eastern cantaloupe market and supply chain. Utilizing the Commodity-Specific Food Safety Guidelines for Cantaloupes and Netted Melons as the organization’s basis, this group of growers has developed a set of standards which ECGA members must adopt and follow including unannounced audits at their farms and packing facilities.

Why should my company buy from a member of the Eastern Cantaloupe Growers Association™?

When you purchase cantaloupes from a member of ECGA™ you can be assured the grower is following the highest industry standards in melon production and packing. All ECGA™ members must agree to comply with the food safety metrics established and adopted by the association. ECGA™ members not adhering to the standards will have their membership revoked in accordance with association procedures.

How do I know my melon supplier is a member of ECGA™?

There are several ways to know if your melons are grown and packed by an ECGA™ member that follows best practices in their operation. Each ECGA™ member will:
• Have use of the ECGA™ logo and ‘CERTIFIED’ label that will be on their melons.
• Each grower will receive a registration number that can also be used on their label for consumer identification.
• Member farm/operation will be listed on the ECGA™ web www.ecga-usa.com site to allow retailers to easily check certification.

ECGA food safety guidance document is available upon request. For more information or questions, contact Charles Hall, (706)845-8200 or chall@asginfo.net.

Source: The Eastern Cantaloupe Growers Association