Officials from the FDA Human Foods Program, including Deputy Commissioner, Kyle Diamantis, visited Salinas Valley farms on September 23rd. Their visits included a carrot harvest hosted by Grimmway’s Russ Hamlin, a romaine harvest with the addition of the view of a new automated equipment at D’Arrigo Brothers ranch, and finally a strawberry harvest presented by Natruripe.
Following the field visits, the group met for lunch with growers, food safety personnel, CDFA representatives and others representing the local agricultural community at Monterey County Farm Bureau. Lunch-time discussions included industry-led food safety efforts related to adjacent land risk, next steps with data-sharing between the industry and the FDA, as well as plans for reviewing the results from the California Longitudinal Study which begins in December 2025.
The final stop of the tour was a visit to the Taylor Farms foodservice processing plant. Many thanks to all the individuals from Grimmway, D’Arrigo, Naturipe, Markon and Taylor Farms as well as the local associations that supported the supported successful the visit.