DISCLAIMER

These documents are not a direct representation of the internal produce safety standards of any individual member or member organization, nor do they constitute a definitive strategy for preventing foodborne illness. The LGSC recognizes that food safety systems are inherently complex and the landscape is continuously evolving. Accordingly, we expect these standards to be refined over time as new scientific insights and emerging technologies become available. We acknowledge that food safety policy is iterative, and our approach must evolve in parallel.

We also recognize that food safety should never serve as a competitive advantage for any single organization. Industry-wide collaboration is essential to meeting our shared responsibility to provide consumers with safe and nutritious fresh produce. In this spirit, these bestpractice documents were developed with input from an array of stakeholders as a goodfaith effort to highlight key areas of focus across the supply chain and to support industry in strengthening and enhancing their own food safety programs.

Compliance with these produce safety standards does not guarantee legal compliance or eliminate all risks. These terms are provided for informational purposes only, are voluntary in nature, and should not be construed as legal advice. Users are responsible for ensuring compliance with all applicable laws, regulations, and standards.

Resources & Documents

The documents developed by the Leafy Greens Safety Coalition (LGSC) are a non-binding set of food safety standards that the LGSC membership feel represent a good first step towards better food safety in the produce space.

As a stakeholder collective comprised of end-users in the retail and foodservice space that are directly accountable to our consumers, we recognize that incredible strides have been made by industry partners up and down the supply chain to advance the learnings that underscore these harmonized best practice documents. The elements reflected herein were drafted with substantive input of progressive and proactive growers, processors, academia and other non-member retail and foodservice partners who are committed to recognize the need for elevating standards.

Supply chains encounter a range of complex and evolving challenges, requiring thoughtful planning to ensure the effective implementation of a comprehensive food safety program. Designed for endusers in the retail and foodservice sectors, these documents offer flexible application and can be leveraged in multiple ways: to guide discussions with suppliers when developing a food safety program, to be adopted in part or in full, or to serve as a benchmark against existing programs.

Consistent with our philosophy of continuous improvement, LGSC adopts a flexible stance towards established practices, staying open minded and engaged with those advancing science and public health policy to ensure we are focused on initiatives that demonstrably reduce risk, address emerging threats and continue to help us make strides in improving produce safety.