Association holds mock food safety audits

Summer is the busiest time of the year for many Colorado fruit and vegetable grower-shippers.

But while growers' focus is in the fields, a group tasked with fighting for their interests at the State Capitol in Denver continues to do just that.

"They keep activities going on while we're farming," said Robert Sakata, one of the prime movers behind the creation, in 2014, of the Colorado Fruit & Vegetable Growers Association, and currently the group's president.

Highlighting the group's activities this summer, Sakata said, was its first-ever mock food safety audit, held July 12 at a Pueblo area grower's facility.

The idea behind the mock audit, Sakata said, was to give Colorado growers a sense of how new regulations under the federal Food Safety Modernization Act will change how they do business.

"A lot of people don't know what to expect. This will help them decide whether they want to have a third-party audit."

Two more similar mock audits will be conducted at other Colorado facilities this year, Sakata said.

Also on tap for the association this summer, the group is co-sponsoring an event Aug. 12 with the American Culinary Federation at the Colorado governor's mansion.

At the event, chefs from Colorado and other states will gather to create dishes using locally grown fruits and vegetables and other products.

"It's a great chance to highlight Colorado-grown foods," Sakata said.

The Colorado Fruit & Vegetable Growers Association began 2016 with its second annual conference in Denver, an event which drew more than 300 people, 20% more than the inaugural event.

Amy Kunugi of Center, Colo.-based Southern Colorado Farms is the group's vice president and Marilyn Bay Wentz is its executive director on a contract basis.