Natural Selection Foods was formed by the
founders of popular organic produce brand Earthbound Farm and Mission Ranches. In 1999, Tanimura
& Antle, another longtime family-run farming company joined the company. As
the specialty salad pioneer, Natural Selection Foods and its
grower-partners have developed consistent quality and year-round
availability of once-obscure gourmet greens, making them a staple
on salad plates everywhere.
After the 2006 tainted spinach problem, many farmers and food processors faced regulators' and consumers' demand for greater food safety. According to Natural Selection, they have adjusted their food safety program in the following ways:
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1. In the Field, From Seed to Harvest
Food safety and quality assurance must begin where the produce grows, even though nature is difficult to control.
- Now, every lot of salad greens that enters our facility is lab-tested for E. coli and salmonella.
- Our seeds are tested for pathogens, including E. coli O157:H7 and salmonella, before planting.*
- We test and monitor water sources for harmful bacteria.*
- We test soil amendments and composted materials for pathogens.*
- We regularly monitor environmental conditions in and around the field.
- Our
field harvesters are thoroughly trained in Good Agricultural Practices
(GAPs) to achieve our strict standards and ensure proper sanitation.
- We
make frequent, unannounced inspections of our growers’ fields, harvest
equipment, and produce transport vehicles to verify compliance with our
safety program.
- Our salad greens
are refrigerated within an hour of harvest and kept cold continuously
(what’s known as “the cold chain”) as they go through our processing
facility.
*100% grower compliance by April 30, 2007
2. At the Facility, We Test & Hold
Because
produce is grown outdoors in an open environment, it’s important to
prevent any contamination that might occur in the field from entering
our facility. Test & Hold acts as a “firewall”
between the field and our facility. No matter where in the environment
pathogens might originate, Test & Hold helps keep contamination our
of our processing stream.
- We lab-test salad greens arriving at our facility for pathogenic E. coli and salmonella.
- We hold all greens out of processing until the tests are completed.
- We destroy any greens in which we detect evidence of pathogens.
- Only those greens cleared by testing are released into our facility for processing.
3. Processing Our Salad Greens
Daily Cleaning and Sanitation
- Our facility is designed to make our comprehensive daily sanitation procedures efficient and effective.
- Every
employee in our processing plant completes rigorous Good Manufacturing
Practices (GMP) training to ensure they maintain our high food safety
standards.
- Everyone in our
plant wears protective clothing (gloves, hair and beard nets, long
sleeves, smocks, hard hats) to prevent unprotected contact with the
greens.
The Unbroken Cold Chain
- To
maintain the highest quality and safety, our cold chain begins at
harvest and continues until the packaged salads are loaded onto
refrigerated trucks for delivery.
Careful Sorting and Washing
- Our custom-designed equipment inspects, washes, and dries our delicate salad greens without damaging them.
- Greens are sorted as they enter the wash line to remove weeds and undesirable leaves.
- Non-leafy items like roots and twigs are ejected by state-of-the-art optical sorters.
- The
greens are thoroughly washed and sanitized in chilled, chlorinated
water meeting National Organic Program standards before they’re
packaged.
4. The Final Check: Packaged Salads
As a final safety assurance, we Test & Hold packaged salads, too.
- Once off the processing line, packaged salads are tested for pathogenic E. coli and salmonella.
- All product is held until cleared by testing, then it’s prepared for shipment.
Our Food Safety Program is Validated by Independent Monitoring
- Independent certified labs perform continuous testing in our facility to verify the effectiveness of our sanitation program.
- We’re
part of the USDA’s voluntary Qualified Through Verification (QTV)
program, which audits our Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point
(HACCP) procedures with unannounced on-site visits.
- Our processing facility is certified organic by California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF), a USDA-accredited agent.
- Our
entire food safety program is constantly monitored by our Scientific
Advisory Panel, which includes some of the country’s leading food
safety experts.
These are extreme measures by food producers to manage the millions of pounds of product they manage and distribute. But the job of food safety doesn't stop there. Consumers, too, share responsibilities to make careful selections, store the food in safe conditions, prepare it properly so that it doesn't get contaminated with kitchen bacteria, and eat it with a balanced diet to maintain health and vigor!
Remember, fresh produce is perishable — for safety and quality, keep produce cold!
