A fresh crop of recommendations was delivered to the USDA’s Fruit and Vegetable Industry Advisory Committee by senior leaders of the International Fresh Produce Association.
The recommendations were presented to the committee in early February by Cathy Burns, co-CEO; Robert Guenther, chief policy officer; Jennifer McEntire, chief food safety and regulatory officer; Max Teplitski, chief science officer; and Mollie Van Lieu, vice president of nutrition and health, according to a news release.
“The FVIAC advises the Secretary of Agriculture on issues affecting the fruit and vegetable industry,” Guenther said in the release. “Several leaders from IFPA member companies currently serve on the committee and provide diverse insights into the production, marketing, food safety, and nutrition aspects of fresh produce to USDA. We’re pleased to provide recommendations to the committee to help advance its work and continue our ongoing efforts in government advocacy.”
Some of IFPA’s recommendations, according to the release, were:
- Increased data collection by USDA on Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP) in schools, including names of participating schools, total funding for each school and the number of students served;
- USDA Procurement/USDA HGAP Requirements that allow produce vendors be audited to a GFSI-recognized food safety audit scheme without specifying that the USDA audit is the only permissible audit;
- Clarify Buy American Requirement to ensure that schools feel empowered to make fruit and vegetable purchasing decisions in the best interest of their students’ nutrition needs, guaranteeing a wide variety of produce during the school year;
- Collect more data on the fruit and vegetable industry so USDA programs better serve the industry’s needs;
- Provide update on State Block Grant Funding Projects for COVID-19;
- Create a process that allows committee to recommend to the USDA top priorities for Specialty Crop Block Grants distributed by states;
- Review the Pandemic Response and Safety Program to better understand its intended goals; and
- Produce an impact assessment of produce industry response to COVID.
The release said other recommendations from IFPA called for clarification on vaccine requirements for federal contractors, specifically that they be held to the same vaccination standard as every other privately owned business; the reestablishment of the USDA Specialty Crop Research Committee and that it be operational by end of year; and USDA intervention with OMB to push for the release and timely finalization of this rule.
