Long-time allies the Produce Marketing Association (PMA) and Western Growers have joined forces in a bid to focus the two organisations’ resources on fresh produce food safety.
Under a partnership agreement, the two groups will work together on “a joint mission of protecting public health and the industry” by ensuring that food safety standards are effectively and consistently applied throughout the supply chain, according to a press release from PMA.
A joint task force comprising members of both associations’ executive committees is working to identify and prioritise strategies and actions that will enhance food safety for PMA and Western Growers’ members.
Initial plans include enlisting other leading organisations across the supply chain to identify food safety gaps, then to create produce-specific best practices and deliver education and other vehicles to address those gaps in a time- and cost-effective manner.
Association representatives stressed the importance of coordinated communication and education to raise awareness of food safety as a shared, supply chain-wide responsibility, and to increase the industry’s ability to prevent, detect and address breakdowns.
“Growers have made considerable efforts to date to enhance food safety, and have faced critical food safety challenges head on with an arsenal of continuously improving preventive protocols and good agricultural practices,” said Western Growers President and CEO Tom Nassif.
“Accountability for public heath means shared responsibility and a consistent commitment throughout the supply chain. This collaboration is designed to close the loop and raise the food safety bar.”
Given Western Growers’ significant producer base and PMA’s supply chain-wide membership, PMA president and CEO Bryan Silbermann added that it made “abundant sense” to formalise the long-time working relationship to work together on this “critical” topic.
“Food safety must be a supply chain priority, so we are starting there – though we don’t expect it will end there.”
No comments yet