Sen. Florez singles out self-regulating leafy greens industry

Last Update: 9/17 7:17 pm

Following Monday’s salad recall in the U.S. and Canada, Sen. Dean Florez (D-Shafter) asked the California Department of Food and Agriculture if those leafy greens came from California.

Less than three weeks ago, California’s grower Metz Fresh recalled 8,000 cartons of spinach, which had already been delivered to stores for concerns of salmonella contamination.

That recall combined with Monday’s recall prompted Florez to ask whether vegetables in questions were grown in California, and whether the grower followed a self-regulators approach to food safety, as recommended by the Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement.

The self-regulatory approach was the leafy greens industry’s answer to legislation authored by Florez last year that would regulate the industry.

Florez’s legislation was denied because the Assembly Agriculture Committee wanted to give the produce companies one more chance to regulate themselves.

http://www.kget.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=e894d918-dec4-4311-b502-8317ed813aec