© Intellectual Property of Markon 2017 5-Star Food Safety © Intellectual Property of Markon 2017

What is Markon Cooperative? A purchasing and marketing cooperative founded in 1985 Headquartered in Salinas, CA Seven independent foodservice distributors - serving operators from more than 70 locations in U.S. and Canada $24 Billion in annual sales

Markon Mission Statement To continually enhance the produce, the packaging, and product information available exclusively to our members and their foodservice customers so that produce serves as a meaningful point of differentiation for both. Read Mission Statement. Very good explanation of what Markon is, and does.

The Markon Mission Defines & verifies food safety 5-Star Food Safety® Program (Markon brand grower-shippers) Baseline Food Safety Program (other grower-shippers) Manages quality assurance Daily/weekly inspections of fields & facilities

Why is Food Safety Important? Consumers expect their food to be safe Everyone in the supply chain has a responsibility If someone gets sick from your establishment, the illness will most likely be associated with the establishment not necessarily the supplier

The Produce Supply Chain simplified!! Fields Growing Harvesting Facilities Cooler Packing House Processing facility Transportation Trucks Rail Cars Distribution Center Consolidator Commissary Kitchen

Fields: Growing & Harvesting Good Agricultural Practices Best practices for fields and harvest crew Irrigation water quality verification Wash water quality and sanitizer verification Worker Hygiene Program Hand washing, restrooms Traceability Mock Recalls

Examples of food safety incidents Food Safety Concern Food Safety Incident Report Risk Assessment Determine Appropriate Corrective Action

Food Safety Concern Animal Intrusion: Additional canine tracks found on the furrows on the north west side of Block 2

Food Safety Incident Report Location Commodity Grower/harvester Incident category (animal intrusion/feeding/feces/tracks, policy breach) Corrective action (buffer, harvest detained, product on hold)

The harvest crew has placed totes on the ground, however food safety policy indicates that totes be stored on a pallet or a cardboard slip. Once these totes are filled with product they are stacked on top of each other. If a totes has mud or contamination on the bottom, it could drip and contaminate product on the pallet below it.

This is a policy breach where an employee is storing their harvest knife in his boot. This incident resulted in an employee retraining and tool sanitation.

These may look like premature lettuce heads, however this is actually an incident of rabbit feeding. Likely the rabbits are living across this dirt road in the wooded area.

Facilities: Processing, Packing, Cooling Good Manufacturing Practices Water Quality and sanitizer verification Environmental Monitoring Program Targeting Listeria Spp. Sanitation Program Review Worker Hygiene Program Hand washing, personnel protective equipment (gloves, hairnets, aprons) Traceability Mock Recalls Environmental monitoring is similar to when you go to the Doctor and they take a swab from the back of your throat, except inside a facility you are taking swabs of the table the lettuce is being packed on and instead of testing for strep you test for listeria. Sanitation consists of 2 steps, first getting rid of physical debris and next sanitizing to eliminate any microbes that may be invisible to the naked eye. There is nothing like having a Markon employee at a facility, this program really sets us apart. These visits focus on verifying with our suppliers that the food safety documentation we review is congruent with what we observe. For example, we will receive documentation on a pest control program that may have a map with 22 rodent traps, during our audit we will walk the facility identifying the 22 traps and ensuring they are in good repair and properly placed and functioning.

BEFORE: Food contact surface with heavy organic build up Porous food contact surface, can not be sanitized Gaps in cleaning and sanitation Tomato repack line with porous surface that could not be sanitized

AFTER: Markon accepted corrective action Replaced curtains, updated cleaning and sanitation procedures Corrective Action Markon required

BEFORE: Damaged processing belt Damaged food contact surface, can not be sanitized

AFTER: New belt installed Smooth food contact surface that can be sanitized

Product traceability Trace back coding on both the inner and outer packaging allowing for trace each carton back to the field level Grower Field Crew Pack Date

Transportation Trailer loading checklists Temperature monitors Good repair Overall cleanliness Best pallet loading placement Temperature Temperature monitors This covers trucks that pull up to your loading doc delivering product to your distribution center. This star focuses on cleanliness. Temperature or cold chain management is essential during transportation. Markon utilizes temperature monitors, which are inserting into loads and alert Markon customer service and Shamrock purchasing of any truck when the temperature reaches > 40 F. The issue can be addressed with the carrier and adjustments can be made to get the temperature back down to proper range.

Distribution Centers Distribution Center Best Practices Dedicated quality assurance Warehouse temperature zones keep all products at their optimum temperatures Worker Hygiene Program Traceability Mock Recalls

Mock Recalls Mock recalls to ensure product traceability The Markon Produce App provides real time alerts on food safety related incidents Ensures effective communication throughout the supply chain

Kitchen Storage & handling information Worker Hygiene Program Color coding Handwashing Markon provides tools for proper storage and handling that can be shared with your customers at the kitchen level.

Ask a food safety expert

We’re not just selling produce…. We’re selling confidence. Markon We’re not just selling produce…. We’re selling confidence.

Thank you! Lianna Kelly Food Safety Director Markon Cooperative, Inc. Markon.com LiannaK@markon.com