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Fresh Del Monte
Pre-Harvest Assessment: Elevating Our Field Practices For A Safer Produce Industry
It starts from the field and ensures our growing operations and those that we work with an implement, continuously monitor and manage the highest levels of food safety standards. For us, it identifies our level of due diligence in managing and mitigating risks at all levels through our vertically integrated supply chain. To be considered a supplier to Fresh Del Monte, a grower must provide detailed food safety documents, programs, and processes that are reviewed both regionally and by corporate.
We operate in over 90 countries and source fresh produce from hundreds of growers around the world. As we say, due to our global footprint, the sun is always rising for our growers somewhere every day. This is a tremendous responsibility to ensure that our growers adhere to not only globally recognized standards in food safety and quality but also to our own high corporate standards of compliance with food safety standards.
The beauty of the fresh produce industry is that we harvest from the planet in a manner that respects not only the planet's limited resources but also the team members and their local communities that make it their job to ensure that we get the supply we need in a manner that is respectful and understanding of the sensitive nature of our product supply.
As a group, we conduct hundreds of audits through on-site visits supported by Corporate and/or Regional auditors or enlist second parties to review food safety and quality practices on our behalf. During these audits, we cover many areas, including but not limited to the following: irrigation water system, pre season risk assessment, soil amendments, field assessments, in-field sanitation program, pest control, field equipment, agricultural chemical use, worker sanitation facilities, worker health and hygiene, employee training, and food security. These audits can span several days with walk-throughs of the field, water source, and surrounding areas and review of key documents and data.
While there are many areas of focus during an audit, I want to focus on several areas that include water sources, field equipment, and employee training. Water is the source of life, and it is no different for the variety of produce that we send to our consumers. Our overall preference is for drip irrigation, which is the safest for food safety but also one of the most sustainable manners to not only feed our crops but also respect the scarcity of this resource. Frequent testing of water sources is mandated, governance processes are in place for where water is stored, and very important is the evaluation of any nearby CAFOs.
CAFOs are concentrated animal feeding operations. A typical farm assessment would also review if any CAFOs are near water sources, and an appropriate risk assessment would be done for this operation, which includes any required water treatment, monitoring, and training.
Frequent testing of water sources is mandated, governance processes in place for where water is stored, and very important is the evaluation of any nearby CAFOs
We are about people, and consistent and regular engagement with our team members is critical to ensure that proper food safety programs are being implemented. We conduct regular on-site training and train in a variety of areas: handwashing, appropriate clothing, injury procedures, security awareness, and overall health and wellness of all team members.
At Fresh Del Monte, we are responsible stewards of our planet, our people, and our communities, and we continue to ensure that our consumers have a product that is grown, harvested, and processed with the highest levels of food safety standards.
