Media

Media Contacts

Sara Fleury
BJC
602.277.9530 x226
sara@bjc.com
Liz Meyers
BJC
602-277-9530 x227
liz@bjc.com

 

Fact Sheet

History
September 2007 marked the beginning of the Arizona Leafy Green Products Shipper Marketing Agreement (AZ LGMA). Members of the Arizona Leafy Greens are working collaboratively to protect public health by reducing potential sources of contamination in Arizona-grown leafy greens

By the Numbers

  • Arizona Leafy Greens represents a $1 billion leafy green industry in Arizona.
  • Arizona Leafy Greens industry employs more than 20,000 workers.
  • Approximately 85 percent of the leafy greens consumed in the United States and Canada comes from Arizona from the months of November through March.
  • The certified members produce more than 61 million cartons, representing 96 percent of leafy greens grown in Arizona.


Website
www.arizonaleafygreens.org

harvevsting safe leafy greens

Products
The 15 leafy green products covered by the Arizona Leafy Greens Agreement include:

  • Endive
  • Escarole
  • Spring Mix
  • Cabbage
  • Romaine Lettuce
  • Butter Lettuce
  • Arugula
  • Iceberg Lettuce
  • Green Leaf Lettuce
  • Red Leaf Lettuce
  • Baby Leaf Lettuce
  • Spinach
  • Kale
  • Chard
  • Radicchio


Enforcement
The AZ LGMA program enforces mandatory good agricultural practices, developed by a panel of industry experts and reviewed by government regulators. The food safety compliance requirements cover five main areas:

General Requirements: Member companies are required to have a complete food safety compliance plan, an up-to-date list of growers and a written trace-back program.

Environmental Assessments: Pre-season and pre-harvest assessments are required to make sure conditions that can affect food safety, such as animal intrusions, flooding, proximity to animal feeding operations, etc. are not present, or have been properly mitigated.

Water: Extensive testing and record-keeping for all sources of water are required by the program.

Soil amendments: Extensive testing, certification and record-keeping for all sources of compost and fertilizers used in the production of leafy greens are required by the program.

Work Practices and Field Observations: Field audits verify that farmers are in compliance with the program’s requirements in the areas of worker practices and Field Sanitation.

Service Mark
Leafy greens products produced by Arizona Leafy Greens member companies carry a Service Mark to make them easily recognizable for buyers.

Organization Contact
The AZ LGMA is managed through the Arizona Department of Agriculture