United Fresh Provides National Industry Perspective at Lettuce Safety Meeting
United Fresh Senior Vice President Dr. Jim Gorny joined officials from FDA, USDA, the California Department of Health Services and Western Growers at a meeting this week in Salinas, CA to address lettuce and leafy greens safety issues. During the meeting, convened by the University of California Western Institute for Food Safety and Security, FDA's top food official Dr. Robert Brackett announced that FDA will continue its Lettuce Safety Initiative with teams of field investigators from the state and federal government visiting farms and processing plants this spring. Federal and state food regulatory agencies also updated participants on the status of investigations of the spinach and lettuce outbreaks last fall, but with no further definitive conclusions. Dr. Gorny reported on United Fresh's initiatives to develop best practices, compliance mechanisms, and research to enhance the safety of lettuce and leafy greens. Presentations from the meeting will available soon at: http://wifss.ucdavis.edu/. More information about the Lettuce Safety Initiative can be found at www.cfsan.fda.gov. For more information, please contact Dr. Gorny at (530) 756-8900.
United Fresh Produce Association
1901 Pennsylvania Ave. NW Suite 1100
Washington, DC 20006
Tel: 202 303 3400
Fax: 202 303 3433 united@unitedfresh.org
