As public health agencies last week called an end to the latest E. coli outbreaks linked to romaine lettuce from Salinas, the leafy greens community, government regulators and the entire produce industry continue efforts on multiple fronts to prevent future outbreaks.
“Foodborne illness outbreaks have a significant and devastating impact on consumers who put their trust in our products,” said Scott Horfsall, CEO of the California Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement (LGMA). “Members of the LGMA take our responsibility to produce safe food very seriously and work to make improvements is well underway.”
Horsfall explained the LGMA has appointed industry experts to serve on a series of new Subcommittees to address specific areas involved in the production of leafy greens.
As an important reminder, when the LGMA makes changes to our requirements, they are implemented on thousands of farms that produce over 90 percent of the leafy greens grown in the U.S. Government auditors will then verify growers are following the new practices through mandatory government audits. No other food safety program in the world has this capability.
Numerous additional efforts throughout the produce industry are underway to help understand how future outbreaks can be prevented and contained.
Click here for an action list of efforts underway to prevent foodborne illness outbreaks associated with leafy greens.
