News
Five weeks before the Food and Drug Administration conducted its inspection at Jensen Farms, a third-party audit gave the facility high marks.
In a Aug. 17 audit by Santa Barbara, Calif.-based PrimusLabs, Jensen scored a 96 out of 100 possible points, said Bob Stovicek, PrimusLab’s president and chairman.
The PrimusLabs audit was conducted early in the season, meaning that conditions at the plant were likely quite different from when the FDA did its inspection, Stovicek said.
Stovicek, citing Jensen Farms’ ownership of the audit, would not address the FDA’s specific criticisms of the plant.
But he challenged the accusation by some government officials that the Jensen Farms facility was well below cantaloupe industry standards. He said officials could be guilty of using a higher standard, such as leafy greens processing plants, in judging sheds where other, less regulated, commodities are shipped.
After the listeriosis outbreak, PrimusLabs reviewed its auditor’s performance at Jensen and determined he did a good job, Stovicek said.
“We are not saying that our auditor can guarantee a facility will be safe and pathogen-free,” he said. “We can tell you what we see, and if there are industry standards, we can integrate them in our audit. I’m pretty proud of the work we do, and I think as more facts come out, we won’t have to hang our heads low.”
For related coverage on what may have contributed to the listeriosis outbreak, see Packing shed at Jensen Farms likely culprit in outbreak.
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Comments (10)
Leave a commentjoe black
Report AbuseWow! Primus needs to get infront of this one. Based onthe FDA reprot about equipment and pooling water, either they miossed these typoes of things r the audit was annouunced and cleaned up.
John R. Gargiulo
Report AbuseFor Christ sakes, this is the United States of America!! we have a culture of excellence.
We really don't need any audit companies to overlook our workplace.
Those are needed only for other countries, in the US the hygiene is a culture embedded into every citizen.
Can't understand what is going on with Jensen Farms.
Fernando
Report AbuseJohn what do you have to say about the salad recalls, cantaloupes, peanut butter,ham, and other items that their origin in the USA has outnumbered those of other countries of origin?
What would it take for you to understand regardless of what country the food comes form there will be good and bad and that the risk is always present?
Fresh Produce should have their own internal health / food safety audits by batches just as food processors & fresh cut salad makers have, and yes it is a culture, a culture specific to the business represented by a label not a country.
Fresh produce is NEW to these type of regulations just as they are new to traceability for food safety purposes.
Maybe your label or business practices are exemplary and merit that you show the rest of the world how it should be done in perfect consistent harmony.
Ben Mark
Report AbuseNo matter which audit or certification company is involved, it proves again those famers rip-off business is useless when it comes to food safety year-round. One day snapshot is a high paid joke. It’s a feel good request by the retailers but it doesn’t work as we can see with every recall. There is no recall without audits and certifications. Farming is not a one-day job; daily sanitation recordkeeping would make a difference and detect problems before they get big. Farmers pay high prices for every requested certification. If they sell to 5 different retailers they have to pay 5 different companies for pretty much the same one day run-around If the retailer can buy a product somewhere else cheaper he does it anyway with no request of anything.
chuck
Report AbuseBen your aware that most Chain Stores won't buy from a Grower/Shipper without a signed product guarantee waiver, buying cheap isn't an option any longer. This also can guarantee the Chain against loss of profit from sales. With Jensen's audit score of 96 they barely passed according to the current USDA/FDA guidelines. Correct me if I'm wrong but 5 marks and you don't pass that's 95.
JM Ibarra
Report AbuseChuck, Yes, for the retailer buying cheap is not an option, however, for the middlemen brokers that some retailers buy from, there is indeed the option to purchase from whoever is cheaper around the corner on any given moment, and that is one of the key elements of hazard control that should also be enforced in order to keep the standars high at all times... Brokers request third party audits from some of their vendors (the ones that have them), and they use those to get the doors open with the retailers, but at any given moment, they will buy from whoever is cheaper to fill the orders and make more money... As far as what mr Gargiulo says, this practice (brokering), and also the growing/packing practices, have nothing to do with nationality, but with the actual enforcement of the standards to be met every single order... the comment also makes no sense, because as it is well known, the actual workers who pick and pack the product in US farms, are not necessarily US Citizens and do not have the supposed "embedded culture of hygiene"...
John
Report AbuseWe all know that audits are just a picture in time and have very little value
in the long run. It is the culture of the daily business that makes the difference
and we to really recognize what value audits have.
david
Report AbuseJohn,
are you being sarcastic? I hope so! The culture in the USA is to do things half-assed if you don't think you'll get caught! That's precisely why we need third party auditors, otherwise no one would be held accountable!
Fernando
Report Abuseyou are correct sir John culture is a part of the good and the not so good.
http://www.foodsafetynews.com/
in here, today's edition you will find a vast number of recalls related to culture, particularly those cultures of Listeria & Salmonella.
Gil Q.
Report AbuseIt really doesn't matter what country you are from if you don't really believe that what you
are doing is important for something. We all can pass third party audiths with high scores
one day, but be real low on them the other 364 days of the year if you think what
you are doing is worthless.
So, it is important for us to know that what our industry is doing to comply with
food safety is vital, and we should do our best. It is painful for our industry
when somebody fails, as alike produce even if not related to the problem suffers as well
because of the lost of trust from our consumers. In our industry if somebody fails we all
fail, and we all suffer the consecuences. However, doing things right doens't
prevent the possibility of a problem. It only reduces that possibility. So, let's do our part.