Food Safety Culture

Leafy greens to be pre-harvest tested

Romaine. Image from Pixabay.

Tim York, the CEO of the California Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement, suggested in a recent Op-Ed in the Packer magazine that leafy greens must be tested pre-harvest especially if grown near to an animal feedlot. This is in response to the FDA report on last years leafy green-STEC outbreak. Leafy greens are close to being the main cause of foodborne illness in the US at the moment.

It is interesting that he calls on buyers to pressure leafy green growers to have pre-harvest testing. This seems to add to the pressure on produce food safety workers, as we discussed earlier. 

Testing raises lots of questions as leafy greens continue to grow if not harvested and what if the contamination comes after testing or after harvesting? I hope a quick test is developed so that harvest isn’t delayed. While new to the produce industry, meat packers are required to test their meat pre-shipment. Meat, even freshly harvested meat, has a longer shelf life than leafy greens.  

Concerned about foodborne bacteria in your food? Book a free food safety chat today. You don’t have to do this alone.