LOS ANGELES, CA — Southern California based 4EARTH FARMS, formerly MCL Fresh, announces they have earned the coveted food safety certification SQF CODE Edition 7.1 – Level 3, the highest protocol level the internationally recognized Safe Quality Food Institute has developed.
“Food safety has been the foundation of our business” says David Lake, the company’s CEO and co-founder. “We were always driven to have a state of the art warehouse, the cleanest packing room and the finest produce, but this process has allowed us to quantify it. We knew we were good at food safety and product quality control, but going through the SQF 7.1 Level 3 Certification process has taken us to a whole new level. ”
4EARTH FARMS has a dedicated food safety and quality assurance team comprised of 4 full time staff members, but the SQF Level 3 protocols essentially make the entire company staff the food safety team. “We believe passionately that effective food safety must be embedded in our company’s culture. For 4EARTH FARMS, food safety is a company-wide initiative and our entire team is committed to constantly raising the bar and striving to be better!”, said Mark Munger V.P. of Sales and Marketing at 4EARTH FARMS.
SQF Level 3 Certification covers all aspects of operations from basic food handling, to risk analysis plans and procedures, systems development, employee training and management responsibility to maintain the highest quality of product and performance.
”Over the past 12 months our team worked on researching and updating our program with guidance from SQFI and outside consultants to enhance our systems and establish new protocols”, said Munger. “For a 160,000 square foot complex that conducts warehousing, packing, organics and logistics – to obtain the this high level of certification is proof to our commitment and effort.”
“Confidence is what we want to provide to our customers,” concludes Lake. “Confidence that in an imperfect world, 4EARTH FARMS is investing time, money and energy to do everything in our power to make sure consumers of our produce are safe and satisfied – everyday.”
Founded 21 years ago in Los Angeles, California, 4EARTH FARMS is one of the largest vertically integrated Conventional, Organic, and Specialty grower-packer-shippers in the nation. 4EARTH FARMS supplies wholesale, private label, and foodservice produce to some of the largest retail and foodservice customers around the globe.
With incredibly efficient cross-dock, consolidation, and logistics, as well as state-of-the-art facilities and unparalleled food storage and safety standards, 4EARTH FARMS offers a near perfect fulfillment rate on a bounty of produce made up of more than 150 year-round organic SKUs, 250 specialty products, and conventional fruits and vegetables, with its core items being Brussels Sprouts, Sugar Snap Peas, Snow Peas, and Green Beans. With many farm-direct programs, and strong grower relationships, 4Earth Farms cultivates more than 2,000 acres in Baja Mexico, mainland Mexico, Northern California, central California, Oregon, and Texas, and has direct relationships with growers in Chile, Taiwan, Thailand, China, and South Africa.
From farm to fork, we are committed to environmental stewardship, corporate social responsibility, and the 21st-century principles: People. Produce. Planet.
4earthfarms.com
Source: 4Earth Farms