FDA Publishes Final Rule for Food Traceability

November 15th, 2022

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced its final rule this week in establishing traceability recordkeeping requirements for those who manufacture, process, pack, or hold certain foods, including leafy greens, nut butters, fresh-cut fruits and vegetables and ready-to-eat deli salads, for inclusion on the Food Traceability List (FTL).

The requirements established in the final rule are designed to:

  • Rapidly and effectively identify the origin and route of travel of certain contaminated foods
  • Prevent and mitigate foodborne illness outbreaks
  • Address credible threats of serious adverse health consequences or death
  • Minimize overly broad advisories or recalls that implicate unaffected food products

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), an estimated 48 million people in the U.S. get sick from a foodborne illness each year. The ruling advances the FDA’s ongoing commitment to further protect the public by ensuring a safe food supply.

The final rule can be read in full in the Federal Register here. Foods subject to the final rule requirements appear on the Food Traceability List (FTL).

The FDA will be hosting a stakeholder webinar on Dec 7th to provide further information. A time has not yet been announced.

The Western Growers Science team is here to help. Please reach out to Afreen Malik at [email protected] if you have any questions.

WGCIT Hosts November “Lunch and Learn” Session with Driscoll’s Matthew Hoffman

November 21st, 2022

The Western Growers Center for Innovation and Technology (WGCIT) hosted its November “Lunch and Learn” series on Nov. 15 with speaker Matthew Hoffman, PhD, Plant Health Technology Lead of Research and Development with Driscoll’s.

Nearly 15 startups attended the session, where Hoffman spoke on his area of concentration in technology and outreach program leadership at Driscoll’s. In particular, Hoffman discussed the challenges of getting new technologies and innovations adopted within the industry, Driscoll’s method of searching for solutions to issues it’s facing and finding champions within the organization to support change.

For more information about the WGCIT and future events, please contact Executive Director Dennis Donohue at [email protected].

Register for the Sustainable Nutrient Management & Soil Health Field Day

November 21st, 2022

Register today for the Sustainable Nutrient Management & Soil Health Field Day, which will be held on Friday, December 9. Items on the agenda include climate-smart nutrient management, co-composed biochar application, the latest developments in measuring and assessing soil health and avenues for improving nitrogen recycling in vegetable production.

EVENT DETAILS

What: Sustainable Nutrient Management & Soil Field Health Day

When: Friday, December 9, from 9 a.m to 3 p.m.

Where: Ag Center Conference Room 1432   |   Abbott Street   |   Salinas, CA

A light breakfast and lunch will be provided.

For a complete agenda and to register for the event, click here.

Western Growers Joins Effort Asking Congress to Reaffirm Pesticide Preemption

November 22nd, 2022

More than 330 agricultural and environmental stakeholder groups called on Congress in a letter sent on Nov. 14 to reaffirm that states will not impose pesticide regulation in a manner that contradicts federal findings.

Signers of the letter, which includes Western Growers, expressed their concern that some states have begun to regulate pesticides in a manner that could impose additional labeling and packaging requirements that contradict decades of scientific guidance from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The letter states that contradictions on EPA-approved, science-based nationwide labels could put public trust and evidence-based regulation at risk and “erode access to current and future pesticides, threatening crops and grower incomes, conservation practices, public health, vital infrastructure, and ultimately raise food prices for families amidst record-high inflation.”

The Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), the primary statute governing pesticides, was created to ensure that, although states are permitted to regulate the sale and use of pesticides, they are preempted from requiring additional or different pesticide labels or packaging.

WG Member JV Smith Hosts Senator Kyrsten Sinema for Farm Tour and Roundtable

November 23rd, 2022

Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema toured JV Smith Farms in Yuma this week, hosted by Western Growers member and former Board Chair Vic Smith, CEO of JV Smith Companies, for a chance to see cutting-edge technologies used by farmers in the field.

In particular, the tour focused on technologies employed by JV Smith, including Carbon Robotics’ automated LaserWeeder and pesticide-spraying drones.

Sinema later held a roundtable with a number of WG members and Yuma agriculture community leaders to discuss issues they were facing.

“Arizona’s farmers know best about the challenges and opportunities facing the agricultural industry – and I’m incredibly grateful for their expertise and strong partnership. Meetings and tours like this allow me to better understand their needs while negotiating their priorities in Washington, including drought funding and the upcoming Farm Bill,” Sinema said.

The roundtable topics included the proposed Farm Worker Modernization Act, the need for investment in mechanization, the H-2A program, the Colorado River and the impacts potential changes to water allocation would have in the region, as well as the forthcoming 2023 Farm Bill reauthorization.

“We are very pleased that Senator Sinema took time to visit the agricultural community here in Yuma. We were able to share our collective concerns as she listened very attentively. She has been a great advocate for us in the past, and I feel she will be even better in the future,” Smith said.

Western Growers Continues to Engage on California Department of Pesticide’s Proposed Notification System

November 28th, 2022

Western Growers has provided comments on the California Department of Pesticide Regulation’s (DPR) proposed design elements for its statewide Pesticide Application Notification System.

In 2021-2022, California’s state budget allocated $10 million to the DPR to begin the development of a statewide system that provides information to the public about pesticides being used in their areas. DPR is in the initial development phase of the statewide system and is incorporating critical input from community members, farmers and other stakeholders. Below are a few critical highlights from WGs comments and recommendations:  

Notification System Portal

WG expects many who participate in the future notification system will be unfamiliar with DPR’s regulatory programs and the steps taken to protect public health and the environment from pesticide applications. Recipients participating in the notifications should receive additional background information to put notifications into context so they can be properly informed. This information should include pesticide registration requirements prior to use; licenses required by professional applicators; regulatory reviews, approvals and conditions; and risk mitigation measures. When recipients receive notifications without context, they’re likely to incorrectly assume that they’re being exposed to pesticides at levels that present a health risk.

Notification Oversight and Adjustment

DPR has not established clear objectives for the pilot programs, nor indicated how it will determine whether it has achieved those objectives. In addition, for the public right to know about pesticide applications, WG recommends DPR should indicate how the program will benefit the notification recipients as a first step. The program should also include performance metrics and other data to ensure the program is performing as intended without disrupting current practices.

Program Scope and Area of Notification

WG agrees with the DPR that the notification should not identify the specific locations of pesticide applications to prevent abuses of the notification system, which may include targeting of individual growers by anti-pesticide organizations, trespassers on grower property and other means of delaying or preventing legal pesticide applications.

Anticipated Users and Access to Notification

WG recommends an opt-in notification system. This will help ensure that only individuals who are interested in receiving notifications will receive them. An opt-in system will also help to prevent desensitization of serial notifications.

24-Hour Notification

WG doesn’t believe the DPR’s proposal to provide notification at least 24 hours prior to scheduled applications is feasible and does not work with the current Notice of Intent (NOI) system. Approval of a NOI doesn’t guarantee that a restricted material will be applied on a certain date and time and could mislead participants of the notification system. WG recommends that the proposed notification system should be designed to integrate with the existing system.

The full letter can be read here.

Prepare Now for Dec. 31 Harassment Prevention Training Deadline

November 29th, 2022

With only a few weeks before 2022 comes to a close, we want to remind our members about meeting the December 31 compliance deadline.

California Senate Bill 1343 requires employers to provide employees and managers with harassment prevention training every other year.If your staff was trained in 2019, they must be trained before the end of the year.

Western Growers University (WGU) will be hosting the last 2022 Preventing Discrimination and Harassment training on December 15 and 16. This course is designed to inform employers of employee rights, duties and responsibilities. Learn how to shield your business from potential liability and how to create a more inclusive workplace.

To register, go to:  Western Growers University Webinars and Events.

  • December 15 – Spanish
    • Employee session: 8:00 – 9:00 a.m.
    • Manager session: 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
  • December 16 – English
    • Employee session: 8:00 – 9:00 a.m.
    • Manager session: 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

WGU also offers OnDemand training for those with busy schedules. To learn more, visit Western Growers University, and select either:

  • Preventing Discrimination and Harassment for Employees, or
  • Preventing Discrimination and Harassment for Supervisors

This course is eligible for up to two hours of continuing education units (CEU) through SHRM.

For more information on any of our other training offerings, please contact Anna Bilderbach, at (949) 379-3889, or email [email protected].

Transportation Update: What to Expect in the Coming Months

November 28th, 2022

Today’s transportation market continues to influence how shippers go to market with their freight. During the last quarter of 2022, it is likely there will be some normal cyclical uptick in the spot market. This will be caused by some reduction in active capacity as drivers take time off for the end of year holidays.

In the first quarter of 2023, we can expect a typical drop off in tension and pricing due to lower freight volumes associated with historical shipping patterns and the continued impact of the cooling economy. As this occurs, the shift to oversupply will become more evident. C.H. Robinson forecasts for 2023 show some familiar seasonality to pricing with the year ending about where it begins. The market will likely take through 2023, and perhaps into 2024, before the upcycle returns.

Often, participants in the trucking market focus on the economy and correlated freight volumes. These perspectives on the driver and tractor supply acts as a reminder that the carrier community responds to the shifting market. Eventually, either the economy produces more freight or active capacity reduces to a point where carrier profitability returns to a level that supports investment and growth. This occurs during the period of the cycle after the bottoming of the spot market at estimated cost of operations per mile.

To develop or expand your individual logistics program and learn more about the consultative services available through the Western Growers Transportation Program, please contact Lauren Singh,  WGTP / CHR Transportation Director, C.H. Robinson, at
(831) 392-7061 or [email protected]

Western Growers 2022 Annual Meeting Recap

November 7th, 2022

Last week, several hundred farmers and produce industry stakeholders gathered at The Venetian Resort in Las Vegas for the Western Growers 2022 Annual Meeting.

The four-day event was filled with top-of-the-line educational sessions, exciting networking and social events and compelling keynote addresses. Below were a few of this year’s highlights:

  • Keynote speakers, including Admiral William McRaven; Karl Rove; and Jennifer Sey
  • Informational panels, including “When Family Farms Give Way to Outsiders” and “The Promises and Challenges of New Breeding Technologies”
  • Western Growers and S2G Ventures announced the winner of the 2022 AgSharks® Pitch Competition, with Nutjobs earning a record equity investment offer of $6 million from the event’s judges. You can read the full press release here.
  • Entertainment from Super Diamond and a performance in the classic style of the Rat Pack.
  • The Award of Honor Dinner Gala, which honored agricultural icon John Harris.
  • Western Growers’ traditional Golf Tournament & Lunch at the Revere Golf Course.

You can view some event images posted on Western Growers’ Facebook page here.

Save the Date for the 2023 Western Growers Annual Meeting

November 7th, 2022

We are pleased to announce the 97th Western Growers Annual Meeting will be held at the Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort & Spa November 12-15, 2023.

Attended by key decisionmakers from Western Growers member companies, the Annual Meeting brings growers, shippers and processors together with allies and suppliers in the fresh produce industry. Be sure to join us for top notch entertainment, education and networking opportunities.

Please contact Kim Sherman at [email protected] or 949-885-2265 to discuss available sponsorship opportunities, and visit the Annual Meeting website for more information.

Farm Labor Survey Shows H-2A Wage Increase for 2023

November 30th, 2022

Last week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture released data from its annual farm wages report. USDA’s Farm Labor Survey is used to calculate the 2023 Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR), which determines the minimum wages for H-2A workers in each state. California employers can expect to see the AEWR increase from $17.51 per hour to $18.65 per hour, a 5.61 percent bump over the 2022 AEWR. The hourly rate will place California at the top of the pay scale across all states.

The AEWR paid by Arizona and New Mexico H-2A employers will rise 5.61 percent, from $14.79 to 15.62 per hour. Colorado and Nevada H-2A workers will get a 4.88 percent raise, from $15.58 to $16.34 per hour.

The news comes as members of the U.S. Senate try to hammer out an agreement on companion bill to the Farm Workforce Modernization Act (FWMA) during the lame duck session. The House-passed FWMA would freeze the AEWR for one year, then cap future wage increase at 3.25%, along with other measures to secure the border and provide farmers with legal, reliable and year-round workers, while giving consumers much needed relief from food inflation.

Upcoming H-2A Regulations Listening Session for Employers

November 30th, 2022

The U.S. Department of Labor will conduct a virtual listening session for employers and their representatives to gather input about possible changes to the regulations governing the H-2A visa program for temporary agricultural employment of foreign workers. DOL’s stated goals are to listen, engage the public, and hear from many voices who could be impacted by potential changes to the regulations. Separate sessions for employees and their representatives are being offered.

DOL is interested in hearing about the experiences of workers and employers, so they encourage employer representatives to include their members’ perspectives in their remarks or to invite workers or employers to share their experiences directly. We invite you to join the virtual listening sessions for employer representatives with Department of Labor officials. Please find below the breakdown and registration links to the sessions: 

Ag Industry Files Amici Brief in 9th Circuit Court of Appeals

November 10th, 2022

An Amici Curiae brief has been filed on behalf of seven agricultural trade associations, including Western Growers Association, Ventura County Agricultural Association, Grower-Shipper Association of Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo County, Grower-Shipper Association of Central California, California Strawberry Commission and the California Fresh Fruit Association.  The legal brief is intended to oppose the appeal filed by the California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation from a U.S. District Court ruling decided in favor of Red Blossom, Inc. and Better Produce, Inc. The case, Luis Morales-Garcia v. Better Produce, Inc., was discussed in the Legal Issues Newsletter dated March 17, 2022.

This case will be the first appellate court decision interpreting California Labor Code Section 2810.3 in the context of agriculture, which imposes strict liability between a contractor and a client employer (in this case, a marketing agent) for violations of wage and hour laws and workers’ compensation requirements. The District Court also considered whether the marketing agents were subject to “joint employment” with the growers under the Migrant Seasonal Worker Protection Act and the Fair Labor Standards Act. That question was decided by the lower court in favor of both of the marketing agents. If the 9th Circuit affirms the District Court’s decision, appellate court decision will serve as in important legal precedent, not just for the agricultural industry, but many other industries as well.

The Produce Moms’ Lori Taylor on Educating Consumers About Food and Farming

November 1st, 2022

Lori Taylor, Founder and CEO of The Produce Moms, joins Voices of the Valley this week to talk about how she uses her multimedia platform to pull back the veil for the general public about the process of produce farming.

“Our mission is to simple: To get more fruits and vegetables on every table,” she says. “We want fruits and vegetables to be the number one thing people think of when they write their grocery list.”

Lori aims for TPM to have the same influence and longevity as brands run by Martha Stewart and Oprah Winfrey – and to use the immediacy and impact of digital communications for family-friendly ag education that goes beyond recipes. “One of the pillars of The Produce Moms is to help people know where their produce comes from,” Lori says. “If you’re buying a Simple Truth branded item from Kroger and it says Cincinnati, Ohio, [on the packaging] there is a huge amount of shoppers who think that tomato was actually grown in Cincinnati, Ohio.”

Click here to listen to this week’s episode and learn more about how Lori delivers her message as part of a thriving digital community.

Pay Equity – A Cautionary Tale

November 3rd, 2022

Google has agreed to pay $118 million to settle a class action lawsuit alleging violations of California’s Equal Pay Act and Unfair Competition laws.  The lawsuit dates back to September 2017 when three former Google employees filed a class action litigation accusing the tech giant of systematic discrimination based on sex. Specifically, the suit alleges that women in the same job position (i.e., same job title performing substantially equal or similar work) were paid less than their male counterparts, citing a wage gap of around $17,000.

Given California’s emerging focus on pay equity and transparency, employers should view this outcome as a cautionary tale. With a new year on the horizon there is no time like the present to begin an internal review of your organization’s current pay practices.

Pay audits are one way to ensure all employees are being compensated fairly and that there are no major salary disparities within the workplace. Here are a few tips for conducting a successful audit:

  • Develop your audit goals – long term and short term. For example, verifying each employee’s pay, identifying pay disparities, uncovering internal trends/patterns in pay disparity.
  • Decide who should be involved (e.g., payroll, human resources, company leaders, legal counsel).
  • Examine/develop a compensation strategy. For example, what is the company’s compensation philosophy? Does the company have a compensation philosophy? How do these goals fit into existing budgetary constraints?
  • Decide what employee data should be collected. For example, hours of work, job classifications, employee demographics, individual pay rates, and pay ranges for positions evaluated.
  • Evaluate the data and address any pay disparity issues.

It is recommended that legal counsel be consulted before initiating a pay audit as issues such as confidentiality and how best to address disparities will require strategic advanced planning. 

When Neutral Isn’t Enough: California Invited to Revisit Rounding

November 3rd, 2022

In the recent case of Camp v. Home Depot U.S.A., Inc (October 2022), California’s Sixth Circuit Court of Appeal invites the California Supreme Court to review and refine its application of California’s long-standing approval of facially neutral rounding policies.

At issue in the case was a challenge to the employer’s application of its allegedly neutral quarter-hour rounding policy in connection with its electronic timekeeping system which captured each minute worked by its employees. In reversing and remanding the case for summary judgment, the Court limited its ruling to the issue of whether an employer runs afoul of California’s lawful time rounding practices where it utilizes a timekeeping system that allows it to capture the actual minutes worked by an employee.

Employee Camp was found to have lost more than seven hours of work time between March 2015 and October 2020 due to the employer’s rounding policy; an amount determined by the Court not to be de minimis. Noting a lack of citable authority on similar facts, as well as advances in technology, the Camp Court invited the California Supreme Court to address the validity of existing rounding standards – currently based on statutory and case law – mandating that employees must be paid for all hours worked and that even small amounts of worktime – measured in minutes – is compensable where the worktime is regularly occurring.

Of major concern to the Court is the question of whether rounding standards are still viable where an employer, through the use of technology, can now more accurately track and pay all hours worked by an employee. As a result, the issues raised in the Camp case call into question whether current technological advances – allowing an employer to track time more precisely – will give way to fewer circumstances where a facially neutral rounding policy will remain applicable.

It remains to be seen whether the California Supreme Court will undertake a meaningful review. In the meantime, employers currently utilizing precision timekeeping methods, in connection with an existing rounding policy, should consult legal counsel on whether to continue rounding in all circumstances.

Western Growers Announces Results of Board of Directors Election

November 3rd, 2022

LAS VEGAS (Nov. 3, 2022) – Western Growers is pleased to announce the results of the 2023-2024 Western Growers Board of Directors elections. The following members have been elected by the membership to serve a two-year term starting in November 2022 at the 96th Western Growers Annual Meeting:

D-1 All Arizona except Yuma County

Steve Martori, Martori Farms

D-2 Yuma County (Arizona)

Craig Alameda, Topflavor Farms, Inc

Robert Barkley, Barkley Ag Enterprises, LLC

D-4 Imperial County and Blythe

Lawrence Cox, Coastline Family Farms

J.P. LaBrucherie, LaBrucherie Produce

D-5 Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego Counties

A.G. Kawamura, Orange County Produce

D-6 Santa Maria, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo

George Adam, Innovative Produce

John Jackson, Beachside Produce LLC

Craig Reade, Bonipak Produce Co

Ryan Talley, Talley Farms

D-7 North San Joaquin and Northern California

Stephen Danna, Jr., Danna Farms, Inc.

Ronald Ratto, Ratto Bros, Inc.

D-8 Ventura County

Stephen Barnard, Mission Produce, Inc.

George Boskovich III, Boskovich Farms, Inc.

Thomas Deardorff II, Deardorff Family Farms

D-9 Kern County

Catherine Fanucchi, Tri-Fanucchi Farms, Inc.

Bob Giragosian, Kern Ridge Growers, LLC

Brandon Grimm, Grimmway Farms

Kyle Richardson, Garry Richardson Farms

Rob Yraceburu, Wonderful Orchards

D-10 Watsonville, Gilroy, Hollister, Santa Cruz

Dominic Muzzi Jr, Muzzi Family Farms, LLC

Eric Reiter, Reiter Affiliated Companies

D-11 Monterey County

Chad Amaral, D’Arrigo Bros of California

Bardin Bengard, Bengard Ranch, Inc.

Rodney Braga, Braga Fresh Family Farms

David Gill, Rio Farms

Tom Nunes V, The Nunes Company, Inc.

Bruce Taylor, Taylor Farms California, Inc.

D-12 East San Joaquin Valley

Brian Bertelsen, Cove Ranch Management

Carol Chandler, Chandler Farms

Harold McClarty, The HMC Group Marketing, Inc.

Thomas Mulholland, Mulholland Citrus

D-13 Riverside and San Bernardino

Albert Keck, Hadley Date Gardens, Inc.

John Powell Jr, Peter Rabbit Farms

D-14 West San Joaquin Valley

Stephen F. Patricio, Westside Produce

Stuart Woolf, Woolf Enterprises

Affiliated Directors

Sonny Rodriguez, The Growers Company, Inc.

Bruce Talbott, Talbott’s Mountain Gold

Directors at Large

Alexandra Allen, Main Street Produce

Kevin Andrew, Vanguard International

Edwin Camp, D.M. Camp & Sons

Tim Escamilla, DOLE Fresh Vegetables

Jack Vessey, Vessey & Company

Mike Way, Prime Time International

The Western Growers Annual Meeting is the premiere event in Western agriculture, and this year is being held from Nov. 2-5, 2022 at The Venetian Hotel and Resort in Las Vegas. Attended by key decisionmakers from Western Growers member companies, the Annual Meeting brings growers, shippers and processors together with allies and suppliers in the fresh produce industry.

The 2022 event will celebrate agricultural icon John Harris by giving him the Award of Honor, the organization’s highest honor, and Pinnacle Claims Management President David Zanze, who will be recognized for his nearly 38-year tenure with the company.

For more information, please contact:

Ann Donahue

(949) 302-7600

[email protected]

 

About Western Growers:

Founded in 1926, Western Growers represents local and regional family farmers growing fresh produce in California, Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico. Western Growers’ members and their workers provide over half the nation’s fresh fruits, vegetables and tree nuts, including half of America’s fresh organic produce. Connect and learn more about Western Growers on Twitter and Facebook

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A Look at WG Employee Champions Inside Western Growers

November 4th, 2022

Founded in 1926, Western Growers represents local and regional family farmers growing fresh produce in Arizona, California, Colorado and New Mexico. Western Growers provides a lobbying voice in state and federal government, affordable health benefits, technology and innovation development, transportation solutions, legal and human resources guidance and more.

Behind the association are more than 400 employees who are dedicated to serving America’s food heroes; here is an inside look at two of Western Growers’ champions.

 

Kelly Graves

Paralegal

I am a paralegal work mainly in the area of ERISA (Employee Retirement Income Security Act) compliance, drafting summary plan documents, FAQs, and legislative guidance. I started at Western Growers about two weeks before the COVID shutdown in 2020.

Do you have a favorite WG memory?
I recently returned to the office for the first time in over two years and couldn’t find my desk. Since I wasn’t there that long before the shutdown, I’d always used the photos of former CEOs on the wall near the elevators as a guide, and they were gone. I wandered around for about five minutes before realizing I got off the elevator on the wrong floor.

Do you have a work accomplishment that you are proud of?

I almost never miss deadlines.

Do you have a passion or hobby?

Hiking and genealogy.

Do you have a favorite quote or motto you live by?

Words matter. I try to weigh my words before speaking them—it is something I’m going to regret later.

Do you have a favorite sports team?

I bleed Dodger blue.

Do you have a favorite place where you have traveled?

Northern Spain. I badly want to walk an entire route of the Camino de Santiago de Compostela. I walked about 170 miles of it right before COVID.

Do you have a connection to agriculture?

My grandparents were sharecroppers in Oklahoma who came to the Central Valley with my father during the Dust Bowl, living in a boxcar in Tulare for several years. I’ve traced my family in America back to the 17th century, and mine is the first generation who never lived on a farm.

 

James Runez

Licensed Vocational Nurse

I have been with Western Growers for three years. I am the LVN Utilization Management Nurse. I review authorizations and claims, along with being involved in health management for our members.

Do you have a favorite WG memory?

My first annual WGA Christmas/Holiday Party 2019.

Do you have a work accomplishment that you are proud of?

Completing UAT (User Acceptance Testing) and going live with Medecision platform.

Do you have a passion or hobby?

Camping and enjoying watching my two daughters in tap/ballet.

What’s something most people don’t know about you (special talent, unique interest)?

I train Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, which is a self-defense martial art.

What’s your favorite movie/tv show/song/book?

My favorite song is Bedshaped by Keane.

Do you have a favorite place where you have traveled?

Rome, Italy

 

Editor’s Note: Kelly and James were recently honored as recipients of the Employees’ Choice Award, a WG program where employees select and honor fellow team members for their exemplary work and embodiment of the outward mindset.

 

The WGCIT Food Safety Cohort

November 4th, 2022

The Western Growers Center for Innovation & Technology wants to acknowledge and thank the original eight members of its Food Safety Cohort, who have been working with the center on cutting edge solutions to food safety issues.

WGCIT Executive Director Dennis Donohue said each of these companies has invested their time and resources to work on some of the toughest food safety issues in the produce space. Following is a brief description of each company and the work they are doing in the food safety sector. (The company descriptions were provided by the firms or extracted from their websites.)

En Solución provides an affordable, chemical-free method for improving food safety and prolonging product shelf-life. The company was launched using grants for innovative research from the USDA and FDA. The scientifically validated technology infuses water with ozone nanobubbles to clean food products and food contact surfaces via application as a spray to the surface of the product or directly to the wash water where the product is immersed.

 

PathogenDx has introduced EnviroX-F—environmental monitoring that doesn’t require sample enrichment. Results are available in a single 8-hour shift, with the flexibility to test for multiple threats at once to further drive business efficiencies. With its AOAC certification, EnviroX-F makes it possible to test for Salmonella, Listeria or both, with the flexibility to speciate for L. mono as well.

 

Pathotrak is revolutionizing food safety by reducing the detection time of foodborne pathogens from one to two days to six hours or less. Producers can get pathogen results before shipping to avoid outbreaks and costly recalls. It’s the only USDA and FDA compliant innovation in enrichment. It’s compatible with most current tests and seamlessly fits into producer and lab workflows. Testing Ground Laboratories, located in Salinas, Calif., and Yuma, Ariz., has received the first ISO certification to use the Pathotrak’s AOAC accredited technology and deliver Salmonella and STEC detection in leafy greens results in an expedited manner.

 

Priority Sampling was founded in 2016 to assist a growing need for the leafy greens farming community—collecting plant tissue samples for pre-harvest pathogen testing. The company is working to accelerate the rate at which samples are collected and can begin the testing process.

 

Reveam designs, manufactures and operates proprietary high-energy electron accelerators (E-beam) and furnishes comprehensive integrated logistics and information services. As a leading developer and operator of E-beam food treatment systems, it ensures safety and quality by treating fruits and vegetables for all types of pathogens and pests. Its patented electron beam system significantly extends shelf life and reduces pathogens without harming taste, color, odor, texture or the environment.

 

SnapDNA is working to provide tools that food safety professionals need to reduce the number and the severity of outbreaks, lower production cost, and provide for fresher, safer food. It claims to have the first self-contained, on-site analysis designed to replace food pathogen lab tests. Results are available in 60 minutes and hundreds of samples can be analyzed per day. Unlike lab tests, SnapDNA provides quantitative data to reduce the time to find contaminations from months to days, enabling predictive analytics to help prevent outbreaks.

 

TeraBAT is introducing a new diagnostic technology empowering users to rapidly and accurately detect food and crop borne pathogens before they can do irreparable harm. This new rapid diagnostic system, ERS-Dx, is designed to be deployed in the field at the point-of-threat. The system is capable of detecting live pathogens (such as E. coli, Listeria and Salmonella) and other dangerous microorganisms faster than any existing modality of comparable accuracy. This new approach is based on the detection of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) as biomarkers for recognizing living organisms.

 

Yarok Microbio is offering fast, accurate testing kits with proprietary reagents and bioanalytical software, used with a reliable set of off-the-shelf lab tools. Yarok provides results in as fast as 45 minutes instead of days, with in-shift Absence final assessment (i.e. 6 hrs. for Salmonella, instead of 5 days) allowing farmers, manufacturers, and retailers to prevent damage, thanks to accurate test results in unparalleled time.

 

WGCIT’s Food Safety Cohort Takes Direct Approach

November 4th, 2022

Since its inception, the Western Growers Center for Innovation & Technology has been a credible incubator for ideas in the agtech space with the goal of bringing news from forward-thinking entrepreneurs to WG members. On the food safety front, WGCIT seeks to be more strategic and intentional around the needs of Western Growers members.

“The idea is to identify companies that are useful to our members and invite them to develop products that focus on improving the food safety tool kit,” said WGCIT Executive Director Dennis Donohue.

Donohue said those initial discussions led to a general framework of what is needed and how to prioritize those needs. What emerged from the discussions was the decision to emphasize “rapid diagnostic solutions.”

Toward this goal, WGCIT, in conjunction with the Center for Produce Safety (CPS) and the Yuma Center for Excellence in Desert Agriculture (YCEDA), launched the Food Safety Cohort in February of 2022. The cohort consists of a global group of eight innovative companies specializing in prevention technologies and rapid diagnostics that have received exclusive resources to help them launch and scale their projects.

“Rapid diagnostics that help our members get information about food safety problems sooner rather than later would be of great help,” Donohue said.

For a successful rapid diagnostic solution to be developed, he said work must be done on both the development of a test and improved sampling procedures. For the past eight months there has been a lot of discussion around the topic concerning what’s available and what needs to be developed. “Our goal is to bring tools to the market as quickly as possible,” Donohue reported. “We’ve identified the companies that fall into this sphere and now we are working with them to facilitate development. We see our role as helping to provide trials and accelerating the process where possible.”

Donohue noted that the early report card on this proactive approach to develop specific products for a specific need is good. “We’ve done a good job developing priorities and identifying companies that can make this happen. We want to acknowledge these companies and applaud their efforts. On their own dime, each of these companies has invested time and travel in the project.”

The WGCIT executive said the concept of identifying the need and proactively finding companies to work on it has proven successful. The more difficult task is getting that product to the field, but there has been progress in just the past eight months.

Currently, it takes at least 24 hours for a testing lab to deliver the results of a general pathogen test on a 375 gram sample of produce (13.2 oz.).

Javier Atencia, CEO and Founder of Pathotrak, told WG&S that his firm expects to launch a pilot project before the end of the year, which expects to deliver verified results within five to six hours. He said Pathotrak has developed the first product to deliver pathogen detection for leafy greens in this quick of a time frame and the technology has been certified by the AOAC as being equivalent to the Food and Drug Administration’s standard method.

Atencia said that any company can claim they can deliver rapid diagnostic results but unless their testing method is accredited by AOAC, no lab will use it. “We developed the technology for romaine and leafy greens, and we have now created a commercial version,” he said. “The AOAC accreditation validates our method.”

The Pathotrak method basically uses a booster to speed up the 22-hour incubation period needed to allow the bacteria in a sample to increase to detectable levels. Pathotrak’s technology can reduce that incubation period to 5.5 hours currently, and Attencia believes that over time they might be able to shorten that a bit more.

Atencia credits WGCIT and the Food Safety Cohort for moving Pathotrak into the realm of fresh produce food safety. He revealed the testing method his company is touting stems from research developed at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the University of Maryland, College Park, where he was a professor. Initially, Pathotrak was focused on developing the testing method in the meat industry. But about a year ago, Atencia talked to Donohue who encouraged him to apply to be a member of the just-forming Food Safety Cohort. “When we were accepted, we turned our attention to fresh produce,” he said.

Atencia said the connection to produce industry members has been invaluable in leading his company down this path. “I started talking to growers and discovered the big, big impact developing a rapid diagnostic test could have for the produce industry.”

Pathotrak plans to conduct the pilot project with a small select number of clients with about 10 tests a day starting later this fall. A year from now, his expectation is that the test will be available in more labs and in a greater quantity. But he cautioned that widespread use is still a couple years away. “Blue sky is 2025. By then I hope that we will have changed the food safety dynamic in produce,” he said.

Rafael Davila, who founded the startup Priority Sampling as a service company in 2016, said speeding up the diagnostic process in the lab is critical but so is speeding up the sampling process. In fact, because of the Food Safety Cohort, of which his company is a member, Priority Sampling is collaborating with Pathotrak to figure out a way to start the testing in the field even before the sample gets to the lab.

The clock, he said, starts ticking once the sample is gathered in the field. The quicker you can get the testing started, the quicker you will get the results.

Davila said when he started his company it was a “boots and bags” approach. “We would lace up the boots and walk the fields placing the samples in bags,” he said. “I would start the crews in King City and they’d move north collecting samples all day long. About 6 p.m., we would drop them off at the lab.”

That would start the 24 hour clock on testing results, meaning the results wouldn’t be available until as long as two days after the samples were collected. In the past half-dozen years, Priority Sampling has improved its process and added technology to speed up the sampling. The collection restrictions have also become more standardized, regulated and stringent.

Davila said he is working on ways to speed up the sampling and believes the effort to bring the lab to the field to start the testing almost immediately after the sample has been gathered could be a game changer. “It’s outside the box thinking, but I think it is a realistic possibility.”

When Davila started the company, he followed the KISS philosophy—Keep It Simple Stupid. Today, the company’s founder still thinks that philosophy has applicability, but he has also learned to embrace the agtech world and has come to realize that there are potential solutions to a host of issues that would not have even been considered a few years ago. “It’s the new norm and now people are accepting of ideas that four years ago they would have laughed at,” he said.

Collecting produce samples via robotic arms in the field and then simultaneously start the testing of that sample may come to fruition sooner than later. The WGCIT Food Safety Cohort has brought that far-reaching idea into the realm of possibility.