More stringent food safety practices for leafy greens

Following the E. coli outbreak involving romaine lettuce last year, the California Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement (LGMA) Board has voted to strengthen mandatory food safety practices required on farms.

The new standards are in direct response to the US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) investigations into the E. coli O157:H7 outbreaks in April and November 2018. The first outbreak was associated with romaine from Yuma which resulted in 210 reported illnesses, while the latter was linked to romaine lettuce grown in California and caused 62 illnesses. It is believed that irrigation water from canals and reservoirs was the possible cause of both outbreaks.

While the LGMA program has always required growers to test their water, these new, more stringent requirements are designed to further reduce the risk of agricultural water use. For example, the use of untreated surface water for overhead irrigation of leafy greens prior to harvest will no longer be allowed.

Under the new safety practices, farmers are required to:

• categorise the source of the water
• consider how and when water is applied to the crop
• conduct testing to assure the water is safe for the intended use
• sanitise water if necessary
• verify that all of the above precautions have been taken.

The LGMA said the actions taken by its board have changed the way 99% of the leafy greens in California are farmed.

Every box of leafy greens placed into commerce by a certified LGMA member must comply with these new requirements. In order to help ensure this happens, the group has released the updated LGMA Food Safety Practices document and will be holding workshops and webinars soon.

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