More than 40 representatives from all points along the fresh and fresh-cut tomato supply chain met in Dallas, Texas last week to complete drafts of tomato metrics documents for open field, harvesting and field packing; greenhouse; packinghouse; and repacking and distribution operations.

"The objective of this 10-month initiative was to develop harmonized audit standards and checklists for these types of tomato operations, to replace the numerous diverse and conflicting standards that the industry has had to deal with in recent years", said Dr. David Gombas, United Fresh senior vice president of food safety and technology. "We had a critical mass of tomato suppliers, handlers and buyers at the table to ensure that all could agree to the final checklists. FDA participated at all stages, and that is reflected in the FDA Draft Industry Guidance for Tomatoes, published last Friday. Government and private sector auditors were invited to participate at all stages, to ensure that the standards were clear, complete and auditable. Several organizations within the U.S. and Mexico trialed the standards and checklists in June and July, and what was taken from those trials was incorporated in the drafts we developed last week drafts."

Final versions of the standards are expected to be published by the end of August and will be made available on the United Fresh website and elsewhere. Outreach and training efforts will begin over the next few months, with a target of converting all relevant tomato audit checklists to the new versions by January 2010. For more information, please contact Dr. Gombas at 202-303-3400.