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ARIZONA LEAFY GREENS FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What is the Arizona Leafy Green Products Shipper Marketing Agreement?
The Arizona Leafy Green Products Shipper Marketing Agreement (AZ LGMA) represents an industry wide commitment to food safety. The program is designed to continue consumer confidence in Arizona leafy greens through mandatory food safety standards and audits by government-certified inspectors.
Who belongs to the group?
The Arizona Leafy Greens is a consortium of companies that ship and sell lettuce, spinach and other leafy greens products. Working with hundreds of farmers, the 35 member companies of the AZ LGMA ship and sell more than 85% of the leafy greens products consumed in the United States and Canada from November through March. These companies provide leafy green products – both raw and processed – to grocery stores, restaurants and institutions.
Why was the group formed?
Arizona Leafy Greens represent a $1 billion industry in Arizona, and those of us who are part of this industry want to maintain the viability of it and ensure that we continue to provide a safe stream of produce from farm to fork. While the federal government has some safety standards in place for growers and shippers, we felt it was in the best interest of our industry to come together and develop a stricter set of standards and protocols - so that our customers can be assured that Arizona leafy greens are among the safest in the world.
Who is in charge of the Arizona Leafy Greens?
AZ LGMA is an industry driven entity that is administered by the Arizona Department of Agriculture, and as such is subject to the same open meeting statues and regulations as other state government bodies.
What are the Arizona Leafy Greens Safety Practices?
The AZ LGMA program enforces mandatory good agricultural practices, developed by a panel of industry experts and reviewed by government regulators. The food safety practices cover three main areas:
Environmental Assessments: Member companies are required to have a complete food safety compliance plan, an up-to-date list of growers and a written trace-back program. Pre-season and pre-harvest assessments are required to make sure conditions that can affect food safety, such as animal intrusions, flooding, proximity to animal feeding operations, etc. are not present, or have been properly mitigated.
Water and Inputs: Extensive testing, certification and record-keeping for all sources of water and soil amendments, including compost and fertilizers used in the production of leafy greens is required by the program.
Work Practices and Field Observations: Field audits verify that farmers are in compliance with the program’s requirements in the areas of worker practices and field sanitation.
What happens if the Arizona Leafy Greens food safety practices are not followed by a member?
Members of the association and their products are held to strict qualifications and regulations. All member companies are subject to mandatory and random audits to ensure practices are being implemented. Arizona Leafy Greens member companies are audited by licensed government inspectors. If a member is found to be out of compliance in any of these areas, that company will face a range of penalties, the most severe of which is decertification, which ensures customers that products have been grown in compliance with food safety practices. (The Service Mark identifies signatory shippers in compliance with the best practices and other Marketing Agreement requirements).
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