LGMA Membership: At the heart of the LGMA program is the mandatory audit program that certifies member companies are implementing food safety practices developed by university and industry scientists, food safety experts, farmers, shippers and processors. These food safety practices were also reviewed by state and federal government health agencies. This set of food safety practices has been accepted by the LGMA and all LGMA member companies are subject to mandatory government audits on a regular, but random basis to ensure that the LGMA-accepted food safety practices are being implemented. The food safety practices cover five key 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 traceback 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 Use
  Extensive testing and record keeping for all sources of water used in the production of leafy greens is required by the program.

• Soil Amendments
  Extensive testing, certification and record keeping for soil amendments, including compost and fertilizers, 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.

CertiClean

The CertiClean program recognizes outstanding efforts to ensure the safety of food products throughout the chain of custody. CertiClean is a performance-based program. Companies certified to the CertiClean standard must demonstrate compliance to a rigorous HACCP Food Safety Management plan, including quarterly maintenance audits, employee training, and sampling and testing consistent with the relevant crop/food risk level. Such operations must also demonstrate that they meet or exceed applicable local food safety and sanitation-related governmental regulations.