On the fast track to cantaloupe audits in California
A new food safety guidance program is on the fast track as California cantaloupe growers get ready to begin mandatory audits in keeping with their recent vote to participate in the state's first food safety program to be implemented by a commodity board.
The California Cantaloupe Advisory Board gathered Wednesday, June 6, in San Diego in a meeting set specifically in response to last month's unanimous vote in favor of the marketing order by growers who participated. Board Chair Steve Patricio said that guidance has been developed consulting with an international panel of experts and seeking input from industry and scientific peer review.
The board approved the guidance Wednesday, though Patricio said the group remains open to updates based on the outcomes of a current National Cantaloupe Guidance group currently holding weekly conference calls to develop best practices in the wake of last fall's listeria outbreak in Colorado cantaloupes. The National Cantaloupe Guidance target date for a proposed draft is August.
“Our group is working with (National Cantaloupe Guidance), but we knew we did not have the time to wait until August,” Patricio said. “When they're done with their document, anything new or additional will be incorporated into our guidance and metrics.
“That was another affirmative decision we made yesterday. We're continuing to work with them. We're not ignoring their work.”
The board also hired Jon Field to be their compliance officer and granted authority to him and the panel that helped develop the guidance to engage the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) and USDA to establish audit procedures and checklists. Field holds the same role for the California Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement.
“They're going to put it into an audit checklist,” Patricio said. “They believe it will be back within two weeks.
“Whenever it's done, it will be submitted to the board for approval, and we'll begin audits.”
In the end, the process is going to look familiar.
“Inspectors will be the same CDFA and USDA inspectors who do leafy greens and tomatoes,” Patricio said. “We're just piggybacking exactly on what leafy greens and tomatoes are doing.”
