Meeting the Challenges of Produce Supply Chain Safety

摘要

For more than 20 years, Edith Garrett has been a fresh produce industry insider, leading efforts to meet the challenges of food safety and quality assurance at all links in the supply chain. Currently president of Edith Garrett & Associates, Inc. (www.edithgarrett.com), a consulting firm with expertise in the fresh fruit and vegetable industry focused on developing tools and processes to assist companies with food safety and quality issues, supplier certification, regulatory requirements, crisis management, strategic planning and research and development, Garrett previously served nine years as president of the International Fresh-cut Produce Association (IFPA). In her role at IFPA, she was the industry spokesperson; organized a world-class technical department; and directed educational programming, strategic development, operations management and market trends analysis for the association. Prior to joining IFPA, Garrett gained extensive industry experience from eight years serving as the directorof environment and quality assurance for South Bay Growers, Inc., a Florida lettuce and celery grower/shipper/processor, where she developed, from the ground up, the company's quality assurance monitoring program for the fresh-cut produce processing facility, built and operated the microbiology and shelf life laboratory, and worked extensively with food-service customers, including McDonald's and Burger King. She also served on the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Technical Advisory Committee for Trade in Fruits and Vegetables from 2001-2003 and numerous other industry committees.