Food Safety Program Continues For 94 Percent Of The Nation’s Leafy Greens Under California Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement Program

Business Wire

Tue, Apr 8, 2025, 8:47 AM 4 min read

SALINAS, Calif., April 08, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In nan aftermath of cuts to national nutrient information programs, California leafy greens farmers want to guarantee consumers that mandatory, government-enforced nutrient information practices are taking spot connected their farms each day.

The California Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement (LGMA) was featured successful a segment of CBS Sunday Morning yesterday to show really California leafy greens farmers are proactively moving to guarantee nan information of their products.

As portion of nan segment, newsman David Pogue visited nan cabbage workplace of Jack Vessey successful Holtville, California and said pinch LGMA Chief Executive Officer Tim York astir nan mandatory nutrient information programme implemented by leafy greens farmers successful 2007 to guarantee science-based nutrient information practices are being followed connected leafy greens farms.

Pogue describes nan LGMA arsenic a "coalition of farmers overseen by nan California Department of Food and Agriculture who’ve agreed to adopt nutrient information protocols sooner and much stringent than nan government’s. Ninety-four percent of nan nation’s leafy greens are covered by this agreement."

Pogue explains really authorities auditors verify required nutrient information practices are being followed by farmers for illustration Vessey.

"This CBS Sunday Morning show offers a speedy look astatine what leafy greens farmers are doing to forestall outbreaks," says York. "We want to stress that nan LGMA programme is unaffected by changes astatine nan U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Lettuce farmers are pursuing required practices and we proceed to update and amended our nutrient information programme independently. California Department of Food and Agriculture auditors are regularly successful our fields to verify farmers are successful compliance pinch our stringent practices."

"California produces nan mostly of our nation’s caller fruits and vegetables. We return nutrient information very earnestly here," said California Food and Agriculture Secretary Karen Ross. "For decades, California has implemented and enforced immoderate of nan astir stringent regulations successful nan world erstwhile it comes to cultivation pesticide use, biology and worker protections and ensuring nan wide information of nan patient foods our farmers produce. We want to guarantee consumers that California authorities information auditors are continuing to inspect leafy greens farms for illustration those depicted successful the CBS Sunday Morning piece."

York explains that nan LGMA programme was enacted by leafy greens farmers themselves to reside past nutrient information outbreaks associated pinch their products.

"For leafy greens farmers, nutrient information is simply a apical priority," says York. "Most of nan clip leafy greens are eaten earthy and they are grown outside. Every precaution imaginable is taken to forestall contamination. That is precisely why California lettuce farmers took steps to create and money our ain program. We are supportive of national nutrient information laws, but we are not relying solely connected nan national government. It is our work to guarantee our products are safe."