Three strikes

Three is a mystical number when it comes to baseball, the Trinity, celebrity deaths, and now the leafy greens marketing agreement. Here, the Santa Cruz Sentinel talks about the three strikes policy the board is moving to put in place:

The three-strikes policy is the backbone to the 150-page agreement, intended to safeguard against another E. coli outbreak like the one that killed three people late last summer and sickened more than 200 others across the country.
So far, hundreds of handlers, growers and shippers, an estimated 99 percent of the industry, have signed on to the agreement, and ultimately they will be awarded a "seal of approval" if they follow its chief guidelines.
John Dyer, chief counsel for the California Department of Food and Agriculture, the regulatory agency overseeing the agreement, said three violations by a grower, shipper or handler will result in the loss of the seal of approval for one year.
Some of the safety precautions include testing the water supply monthly for E. coli bacteria, proving there is an adequate trace-back system for the produce — and doing their best to keep animals off farmland.


TK: There is no lack of agenda items for this leafy greens board, just at a time when many members would probably like to just run their business. Hats off to all who have been diligent to design a program that carries consequences for those who don't comply.