Community Alliance with Family Farmers

The Issue

What's at Risk

What You Can Do

Leafy Green Marketing Agreement

California Leafy Green Marketing Agreement

Leafy Green Handlers Marketing Agreement (100 kb)
Handling Regulations for Leafy Greens Under the Agricultural Marketing
Agreement Act of 1937 (pdf)
Western Growers Leafy Greens Good Agricultural Practice (GAPS) and Compliance Audit Checklist
Marketing Agreement Board Appointed

Reports

Environmental Destruction in the Salinas Valley: "Food Safety" Requirements to Remove Habitat Makes Leafy Freen Less Safe, Wild Farm Alliance, April 2008
Food Safety Requires a Healthy Environment: Policy Recommendations for E. coli O157, Wild Farm Alliance, March 2008
Food Safety and Environmental Quality Impose Conflicting Demands on Central Coast Growers,
by Melanie Beretti and Diana Stuart, CALIFORNIA AGRICULTURE • VOLUME 62, NUMBER 2
A Grower Survey :
Reconciling Food Safety and
Environmental Protection , prepared by the Resource Conservation District of Monterey County in August, 2007
Unfinished Business: Preventing E. coli 0157 Outbreaks in Leafy Greens, Critical Issue Report 207.6, The Organic Center
E. coli 0157:H7 Frequently Asked Questions, Critical Issue Report 2006.3, The Organic Center
UC Santa Cruz report titled "Food Safety versus Environmental Protection on the Central California Coast: Exploring the Science behind an Apparent Conflict". Diana Stuart, Carol Shennan, and Martha Brown, Fall 2006. (648 kb)
"Reconciling Food Safety & Environmental Protection: A Literature Review" (156 kb), prepared by the Resource Conservation District of Monterey County in Oct. 2006. See a short summary of the Review (140 kb)

Government Reports

FDA and Fresh Spinach Safety Report March 2008
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and California's Department of Health Services (CDHS) Emergency Response Report on the Fall 2006 processed,bagged spinach E. coli 0157 outbreak (3.8 MB)
California Department of Health Services Recommendations in follow up to the Emergency Response Report (48 kb)

Links

Resource Conservation District of Monterey County:

http://www.rcdmonterey.org

The Monterey RCD's mission is to conserve and improve Monterey County's natural resources, integrating the demand for environmental quality with the needs of agricultural and urban users.

California Farm Bureau: www.cfbf.com

The California Farm Bureau's purpose is to protect and promote agricultural interests throughout the state of California. It is California’s largest farm organization, comprised of 53 county Farm Bureaus.

California Department of Food and Agriculture:

www.cdfa.ca.gov

CDFA's mission is to help the governor and Legislature ensure delivery of safe food and fiber through responsible environmental stewardship in a fair marketplace for all Californians. CDFA certified the California Leafy Green Handlers Marketing Agreement.

California Leafy Green Handler Marketing Board:

www.caleafygreens.ca.gov

The California Leafy Green Handler Marketing Board oversees the California Leafy Green Handler Agreement. The California Leafy Green Handler Agreement is voluntary and it implements Good Agricultural Practices (GAPS) designed by Western Growers Association for the leafy greens industry.

Western Growers Association:

www.wga.com

Western Growers' Association authored the Good Agricultural Practices (GAPS) for the leafy green industry. The California Leafy Green Handler Marketing Agreement implements the GAPS.

The Center for Agroecology & Sustainable Food Systems:

http://casfs.ucsc.edu

The Center for Agroecology & Sustainable Food Systems is a research, education, and public service program at the University of California, Santa Cruz, dedicated to increasing ecological sustainability and social justice in the food and agriculture system.

California Certified Organic Farmers:

www.ccof.org

CCOF promotes and supports organic food and agriculture through an organic certification program, trade support, producer and consumer education and political advocacy. CCOF provides certification services to all stages of the organic food chain from farms to processors, restaurants and retailers.

Take Action! Click here to see what you can do to protect your local leafy greens!

See CAFF's position in our

FAQ Information sheet!

Fact Box

According to CAFF's analysis of data provided by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, since 1999, 98.5 percent of the reported California-sourced E. coli 0157 illnesses were traced to processed, bagged salad (that the industry calls "fresh-cut").
See the Analysis Chart!
The ingredients processed, bagged salad are sourced from multiple farms, increasing the risk of food-borne illness through cross-contamination.
Processing fresh-cut (processed, pre-cut) produce increases the risk of bacterial contamination because cutting into the leafy greens breaks the natural outer layer of the leaves, opening pathways for contaminants.