LGMA Offers Food-Safety Training Videos

By Laurel Maloy, contributing writer, Food Online

A video, featuring two victims of the 2006 spinach E. coli outbreak, has been produced for California farm workers — though all producers of leafy greens can benefit from using this tool for employee training

California’s Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement (LGMA) did not set out to change the culture of the leafy greens industry overnight. However, they may have done just that. LGMA was established in 2007 after the E. coli spinach outbreak that sickened more than 200 people. Many retailers and restaurants across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico now require LGMA certification as proof of using the safest methods for processing leafy greens.

Mandatory audits conducted by government auditors are required for all LGMA member farms. This is to verify the efficacy of the science-based practices put in place in order to protect the public health. LGMA auditors are under the purview of the California Department of Food & Agriculture (CDFA) and licensed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).  Government auditors, as opposed to private entities, bear a commitment and responsibility to the consumer. Both announced and unannounced audits are performed three or four times per year on each LGMA farm, with consistent follow-ups for compliance. All of these are documented and managed.

The LGMA aligns with FSMA, promising to meet or exceed the requirements of the proposed FSMA Produce Rule, which is currently open for public comment. Concurrently, the FDA has further developed a partnership with the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) in order to expand its network of food safety. Also, in its effort to advance an all-encompassing, effective, national plan, NASDA has partnered with the Association of Food and Drug Officials (AFDO) and the International Food Protection Training Institute (IFPTI).

You can view all of LGMA’s informational video series here, while the most-recent training video, The WHY Behind Food Safety, brings to light the very personal stories of two young women. One, a child, and one, a young adult, barely survived and forever had their lives changed by E. coli. The LGMA and STOP Foodborne Illness co-produced this video in order to illustrate the personal aspect of the decisions all in the food industry make regarding food safety.

You’ve heard the saying, “It takes a village…”? Well, the “villages” of California and Arizona produce more than 50 billion pounds of leafy greens to be shipped all over the world. Such a daunting project needs everyone’s help to ensure its safe processing, shipping, and handling.