2011 Version of Tomato Metrics Released

In June, the United Fresh Produce Association released the 2011 version of the Food Safety and Auditing Protocol for the Fresh Tomato Supply Chain. Highlights of the updated version include new traceability requirements and environmental assessment mandates for growing and distribution locations that are near domestic animal operations, as well as new label verifications for re-packers. A new requirement for field and greenhouse growers is a two-hour turnaround time for reconciliation of shipped product records.

The rules were first developed by United Fresh in 2009 to harmonize food safety audit standards for the fresh tomato supply chain. The rules apply to greenhouses, open-field producers with harvest and field packing operations, re-packer/distributors and packinghouse operations.