Western Growers has donated $1 million to the Center for Produce Safety (CPS) to advance food safety research and develop ready-to-use solutions to improve the safety of fresh produce globally. WG’s contribution puts CPS over the $10 million mark for their Campaign for Produce Safety, which aims to raise $20 million by 2020 to fund critically needed, actionable food safety research.

“With nearly a decade of cooperation and collaboration between our two organizations, we are honored to help CPS reach the $10 million milestone in their fundraising campaign,” said Tom Nassif, Western Growers president and CEO. “The safety of consumers is a top priority for our industry which is why I encourage every farm-to-fork stakeholder to consider how they can further contribute to the development of the strongest food safety system in the world.”

CPS—a partnership between industry, government and academia—has supported more than 100 research projects and awarded more than $18 million to develop science-based solutions that prevent or minimize produce safety vulnerabilities since its inception in 2007.

“CPS is the only organization where the produce supply and demand chain works collaboratively with the regulatory, research and academic community to identify research needs, conduct research and translate findings into science-based implementable solutions and guidance from field to fork,” said Stephen Patricio, CPS chairman and Westside Produce president and CEO. “Western Growers has been an integral component of CPS throughout its history, and the $1 million pledge is an example of their commitment to the future of CPS.”