Newark, Del. — Produce Marketing Association (PMA) food safety team lead Dr. Bob Whitaker today joined in a food safety tour in the Salinas Valley for Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Margaret “Peggy” Hamburg, M.D. and her staff, as part of ongoing efforts to enhance that agency’s awareness of industry food safety efforts. Arranged by Rep. Sam Farr (D-Calif.), the congressional tour for Hamburg occurred just days after PMA participated in a similar tour organized by Rep. Farr and Rep. Jim Costa (D-Calif.) for Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, providing an unprecedented opportunity for two of the nation’s most influential federal administrators to see the food safety work of the produce industry firsthand.
Designed to help further educate Hamburg and other FDA officials about the food safety efforts of the area’s produce industry, stops on the half-day tour included a leafy greens harvest at The Nunes Company, a strawberry harvest at Santa Paz Farms packaging for Driscoll’s Berries, and a Taylor Farms salad-processing facility. All three are members of PMA. Tour participants included the California Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement’s Scott Horsfall, California Strawberry Commission’s Mark Murai and Taylor Farms’ Alec Leach.
Whitaker represented both PMA and the Center for Produce Safety on the tour. He is a member of CPS’ advisory board along with PMA President & CEO Bryan Silbermann, and chairs the CPS committee that oversees the center’s research program. PMA founded CPS in 2007 with Taylor Farms, the University of California at Davis and the California Department of Food and Agriculture.
“To get to showcase our industry’s work to not one but two agency heads in two weeks is highly unusual, and we are honored to join in both tours,” said Whitaker. “Our thanks go to Congressman Farr for creating these opportunities and inviting us to share our hands-on knowledge, and to the commissioner and her staff for their openness.”
"California’s Salinas Valley grows the kind of food we know Americans should be eating more of, so it makes sense that we showcase our best practices to USDA and FDA leaders,” said Rep. Farr. “Our specialty crop industry has made great strides in food safety, and I’m proud that we were able to put those advances on display for Commissioner Hamburg and Secretary Vilsack.”
PMA has also conducted or participated in similar recent tours, as part of the association’s goal to enhance key relationships with government officials and to enhance their knowledge of industry food safety and to bring practical experience to their public policy. On Aug. 21, PMA Director of Food Safety & Technology Johnna Hepner joined in a tour arranged by Rep. Farr’s and Rep. Jim Costa’s (D-Calif.) offices for Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. In April, Whitaker accompanied FDA Deputy Commissioner for Foods Michael Taylor on a tour in Nogales, Ariz.; last fall, FDA’s Hamburg and Taylor on a tour of small farms in PMA’s home state of Delaware.
In addition to outreaching to government officials to enhance their industry knowledge, other PMA food safety priorities include research, education and outreach. For example, PMA’s upcoming Fresh Summit International Convention & Exposition will feature several food safety workshops – including a recap of key findings from CPS’ first-ever Research Symposium in June – and a Food Safety Solutions Center on the expo floor that will feature education, exhibits and networking with food safety leaders.
Source: Produce Marketing Association