December 3, 2007

ISSUE 1195

FFVA SUBMITS COMMENTS ON FEDERAL MARKETING AGREEMENT FOR LEAFY GREENS

FFFVA submitted its final comments Dec. 3 on USDA’s request for industry input into the establishment of a Federal marketing agreement for leafy greens.

Among other issues, the comments answered USDA’s question as to whether the handling of leafy greens would be better addressed through a voluntary marketing agreement or under a mandatory marketing order. “The initial success of the California Marketing Agreement for Leafy Greens leads us to believe that, if structured properly, the voluntary marketing agreement can work effectively at the national level if handler participation is at a very high level. To achieve maximum effectiveness at mitigating food safety risk, all producers and handlers should be included in the program. Ultimately, we believe this will likely require a mandatory, rather than a voluntary, approach,” the comments stated.

“A considerable amount of effort went into ensuring that the comments were both consistent with the position on food safety FFVA’s Board of Directors took in June, and the views of the Florida Vegetable Exchange, which represents most of our leafy green producing members,” said FFVA President Mike Stuart.

To view FFVA’s comments in their entirety, click here tor visit the Resource Library section at www.ffva.com.