When it comes to food safety, we pride ourselves not only on meeting industry best practices, but exceeding them. Because your family’s health and well being is on the line, the bare minimum is simply not good enough.
At Sábor Farms, we stand out from the rest by having the highest food safety standards for each and every product. Rather than having different protocols for different products, which can lead to confusion and mistakes, we use the same process for each product. This ensures the best food safety practices are being adhered to and most importantly, our produce will be safe for anyone’s family to eat.
Francisco Valdez, Sábor Farms Food Safety Director says, “I have two kids. My job is important because this is the food that my family is going to eat. If something happens, I’m responsible.”
This responsibility is not taken lightly at Sábor Farms, as evidenced by our food safety processes. Food safety at Sábor Farms begins with the preseason assessment. Long before there is a harvest, our inspectors are at work making sure that the growing conditions are safe. We inspect the ranch, check all water sources, and conduct sanitary surveys. If there are any corrections that need to be made, we give them to the growers with plenty of time to address the issue. This is how Sábor Farms is proactive about food safety. We address potential problems before they even arise.
After the preseason assessment and before the harvest, we conduct the pre-harvest assessment. This begins several days prior to harvest. A foreman will inspect the field, looking for any signs of intrusion. There is a final inspection done the day of the harvest. If there aren’t any concerns, then it’s OK to proceed with the harvest.
At Sábor Farms, the owners strongly support the food safety department and give them full authority to completely stop harvesting if need be. We want our customers to rest assured knowing that we go to every length possible to adhere to the best food safety practices.
We uphold best practices set by the California and Arizona Leafy Green Marketing Agreement (LGMA). The LGMA looks into three areas: Good Harvesting Practices (GHP), Good Agriculture Practices (GAP), and Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP). At Sábor Farms, some of our customers have additional requirements. Our protocols ensure that we always meet the needs of our customers. Sábor Farms also conducts water testing to be in compliance with the LGMA. This includes the constant monitoring of our wells, canals, and reservoirs.
Our third party food safety audits are conducted seasonally, and are complaint with Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI). The audits include a complete examination and technical assistance in all areas that affect product integrity. Internal audits on all crew, ranches, and facilities are also conducted twice a month. This is just one of the many ways that Sábor Farms goes above and beyond when it comes to food safety.
In the past, there were only a few standard food safety rules that didn’t require much effort. In recent years, food safety has become a science. Now, companies are putting a great deal of resources into conducting research at the university level. Because of this, we have the opportunity to benefit from what is now an exact science to provide our customers with the safest product on the market. It takes a great deal of time and resources, and we believe the results are worth the investment.
Sábor Farms knows that having the right people with the right training will produce the best product, so they spare no expense in this area.