United Fresh Chairman Steffanie Smith, center, meets with United Fresh President Tom Stenzel, left, and Senior Vice President of Public Policy Robert Guenther, right, after Tuesday's meeting with USDA and EPA.

United Fresh Chairman of the Board Steffanie Smith, CEO of River Point Farms, urged EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson and USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack in a meeting Tuesday to defend the scientific basis of the government’s regulatory system when critics seek to raise fears about pesticide residues within levels that EPA has been determined to be safe.

Smith and United Fresh President Tom Stenzel participated in the meeting with producer Board members and staff of six other fruit and vegetable organizations.

"I believe it was helpful to EPA and USDA to listen to the challenges faced by growers of different commodities in different regions of the country," Smith said. "I also felt that they took our concerns seriously, and now it’s important to broaden this group dialogue to other stakeholders and engage with the staff at these agencies to address a number of environmental issues we discussed."