Romaine lettuce might bring several images to mind. It might remind you of a delicious Caesar Salad, it might remind you of a beautiful display of food on the family table, or it might remind you of having to pull the product twice from your supply chain and your stores without warning in April and again in November of 2018. The question we heard repeatedly was, “How can I protect myself from having to go through that again?” Some things are out of our control, but as a big believer to control what we can, the food and product safety team along with the FMI Food Protection Committee have put together a plan and Recommended Food Safety Practices for Leafy Greens to help you work with your suppliers and know what to ask for when you are purchasing leafy greens.
Earlier this year, the FMI Board of Directors provided us with direction to help prevent contamination of leafy greens; to increase communication across the entire supply chain; to protect consumers and the safety of products; and to effectively respond to food safety incidents, should they occur again. The FMI Food Protection Committee went through a process of identifying the most important issues, determining retail/wholesale industry actions that could have the desired impact on each issue and the likelihood of success of those actions. The plan included evaluating food safety standards and making recommendations to the retail and wholesale industry.
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