United Fresh: A Fresh-Cut for the Future

With the produce industry recovering from a spate of food safety issues this summer, United’s Fresh-Cut Processor Board has set an agenda that focuses on providing leadership on food safety challenges, as well as increasing produce consumption, sustainability and other industry initiatives. Chaired by Jan Berk, San Miguel Produce, and Vice Chairman Tony Freytag, Crunch Pak Sliced Apples, the Board’s 2012- 2013 agenda aims to address the unique needs of the fresh-cut processor market segment.

• Promoting the Industry’s Contributions to Food Safety

The industry has strived to increase efforts on food safety with raw product GAP programs and rigorous processing operations audits, yet when food safety outbreaks take place, finger pointing along the supply chain creates a negative perception of fresh- cut products and produce as a whole. The entire produce industry faces tremendous challenges to maintain the confidence of consumers during these outbreak situations.

In a recent opinion piece, United Fresh President & CEO Tom Stenzel urged the industry to take this opportunity to refocus on their own personal responsibilities for food safety, noting, “We each have a critical role to play, and that must be our commitment every day, with every case of produce. We won’t prevent foodborne illness by pointing fingers at each other. Our only hope is to work together.”

The Fresh-Cut Board is determined to showcase the efforts being made from the grower level through processing operations that help to provide a safe and fresh product. In addition to industry efforts and major financial investment in new technologies, the Board will also describe and continue to build upon the relationship that has been forged with regulatory agencies and elected officials in the development of new food safety laws, as well as continue to work together in challenging outbreak situations.

•The Outlook for Pathogen Testing by Government Agencies

At the 2012 United Fresh Washington Public Policy Conference, Oct. 1-3, the Fresh-Cut Board planned an educational session that examines random government pathogen testing at retail. These testing programs have contributed little to protect public health, but have caused huge impact by forcing processors to recall product most often already consumed.

Speakers from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), food safety testing specialists from academia and consumer groups were to come together for a discussion on the future of government testing and brainstorm opportunities to design more effective protocols. These experts were also looking to the future of pathogen testing and shedding light on what may be required of fresh-cut processors when the draft rules for the Food Safety Modernization Act are released.

•Sustainability in Fresh-Cut Processing Operations

The Fresh-Cut Board will be working closely with the United Fresh Foundation’s Center for Global Produce Sustainability to provide input on how sustainability programs can be applied to processors — and ultimately be seen as a benefit to consumers and processors alike.

                   –Shelby Rajkovich, Communications Manager, United Fresh Produce Association



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