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Food Safety

At Driscoll's we recognize that our berries can't just be great tasting, they have to be perfectly safe to eat.

Driscoll's has made food safety the single most important focus of our berry-growing program. We can't say enough about food safety. It affects us all – your families and ours. Driscoll's Global Food Safety Program has been developed over decades of research, consumer feedback and close cooperation with food safety experts as well as state, federal and international regulatory agencies.

One of Driscoll's highest priorities is to continually build on our industry leadership in food safety standards. Driscoll's has a comprehensive program of third party audits, grower education and documentation requirements that all our growers must follow.

Driscoll's Global Food Safety Program is built on the principles of Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) established by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and GLOBALGAP requirements. GLOBALGAP is an international standard addressing food safety, environmental stewardship and ethical treatment of workers.

For over a century, the Driscoll family has been growing premium berries. Today our unique berry plants are grown by independent farmers around the world and sold under the famous Driscoll's brand. Driscoll's primary concern is for the wholesomeness of our product and the safety of berry consumers, our employees, our independent farmers and their employees.

You can be confident that Driscoll's berries are grown with the highest standard of care possible and that each Driscoll's berry, regardless of where it is produced in the world, is produced with the safety of your family in mind.

Driscoll's Global Food Safety Program Components

• Audits

  As part of our Global Food Safety Program, we audit every farm and facility around the world for food safety, environmental welfare, and the fair and ethical treatment of workers.

  Scheduled and random audits are performed by a certified, independent third-party agency to ensure adherence to Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) for food safety set by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) and GLOBALGAP standards for for proper working conditions, worker and environmental welfare.

  Our Global Food Safety Program audits are performed in the fields, cooling facilities and distribution facilities and they monitor soil, water, fertilizer use, pest control methods, harvest practices, and food safety and security procedures.

  In accordance with GLOBALGAP, audits are performed regarding employee working conditions, safety and hygiene, environmental issues like chemical use, storage and disposal, water and waste management, damage to animal habitats, and conservation of natural resources.

  Driscoll's has performed over 1,400 independent third-party audits in the last 12 months through a certified, independent third-party laboratory. The frequency and extent of Driscoll's auditing program demonstrates our commitment to the highest standards of food safety, and worker and environmental welfare.

  Adherence to Driscoll's Global Food Safety Program policies is a vital component of our independent farmer contractual relationships. We educate our independent farmers about company policy and enforces strict adherence. Our independent farmers are responsible for knowing and strictly adhering to federal, state and local food safety regulations. If inconsistencies are discovered, we investigate the potential violation with the farmer. Driscoll's strives for immediate resolution of any non-compliance issues. Each farmer is aware that non-compliance carries consequences, including termination of their association with Driscoll's.

• Water

  Irrigation water in all growing regions comes from wells or municipal sources. Driscoll's farmers do not use canal water to irrigate their plants. Microbial levels in irrigation water are monitored annually at every farm. All the independent farmers around the world that grow Driscoll's berries must adhere to the same stringent water quality standards.

  Microbial (bacteria, fungus, pathogen, viral and/or parasite) Contamination - Microbial contamination can originate from three primary sources: water, people, or animals. Driscoll's addresses microbial contamination from water through annual audits that test irrigation water. Contamination by people is addressed through scheduled and random harvest crew audits that verify compliance with best hygiene practices. Animal contamination is controlled by keeping animals out of fields through a variety of methods. If microbial levels above allowed government tolerances are found in any berries, those berries are destroyed.

• Foreign Object Contamination

  Driscoll's strawberries, raspberries and blackberries are hand picked and packaged in the field. Harvest crews are routinely audited to be sure their clothing is free of foreign objects that might accidentally fall into a package.

  To ensure the utmost quality and freshness, the berries are not touched again until opened by consumers. Blueberries are placed in the consumer containers in packing sheds and are carefully monitored for any foreign object or debris.

• Product Traceability

  Driscoll's has a barcode-based inventory tracking system in place to identify the field and harvest date of all fruit. In the rare event of a product quality concern or recall, Driscoll's can quickly identify what product is affected, determine the product source (area/farm), investigate the issue and retrieve the product (if necessary) throughout the distribution chain. Driscoll's is continually investigating technical improvements to our product trace-back capabilities.

• Farmer Education and Support

  Information-sharing helps our independent farmers excel. Driscoll's Quality Assurance and Food Safety departments have more than 65 full-time employees who monitor fruit quality and work closely with farmers to ensure that the standards of Driscoll's Global Food Safety Program are met. Driscoll's farmers score very high on food safety, and worker and environmental welfare audits. By sharing their best practices, Driscoll's independent farmers are able to grow the safest, freshest, most flavorful berries possible all year round.

• Food Security; US Food and Drug Administration (US FDA), Bio-Terrorism Act

  Driscoll's primary concern is for the wholesomeness of our product and the safety of our customers, berry consumers and employees. Driscoll's is fully registered and compliant with the requirements of the 2002 Bio-Terrorism Act. We maintain contact with the US Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) in order to comply with this and all other regulations.

• Pesticides

  Our independent farmers are free to choose which Integrated Pest Management method(s) they use.

  Integrated Pest Management uses a combination of natural and synthetic means to reduce disease and control pests. Regardless of the pest control method used, any pesticide used must be in compliance with federal and state laws, and must comply with the registration policies of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. They must also be within the legal pesticide tolerances established by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. For additional information on specific pesticides available for use by farmers, please refer to the US EPA's web site.

  In the United States, federal and state laws strictly regulate the use of pesticides. US EPA, US FDA, and state and county regulatory agencies all have regulatory jurisdiction governing the safe use of pesticides. All independent farmers around the world who grow Driscoll's brand berries must adhere to the same US EPA and US FDA laws and standards.

  Driscoll's independent farmers have been leaders in the practice of Integrated Pest Management, which uses a combination of natural and synthetic means to reduce disease and control pests. IPM employs constant field monitoring and can also include the use of beneficial organisms to control damaging pests.

  Driscoll's has made a commitment to significantly increase the production of organic berries and utilize our experience in organic farming to reduce the use of synthetic materials (including pesticides) in all of our products.

• Quality Assurance

  Driscoll's berries are grown, harvested and shipped with the highest standards of care possible, regardless of where they are grown. As part of our food safety program, we audit all our farms and facilities around the world for food safety, environmental welfare, and the fair and ethical treatment of workers. These audits ensure we comply with and exceed national and international food safety rules.

  Every batch of berries we produce is inspected for quality and appearance by our highly trained staff to ensure they are fresh and delicious when they reach our customers. Our berries are cooled immediately after they leave the field and are not handled by anyone other than the consumer. This reduces bruising and maintains the berries' wholesomeness throughout transportation.

  We are committed to providing consumers with useful information about where Driscoll's berries are grown. Country of origin information is clearly stated on every product label and we support voluntary labeling programs that offer consumers more information about our product.

  Driscoll's has a barcode-based tracking system to identify the field and harvest date of all fruit. In the rare event of a product quality concern or recall, Driscoll's can quickly identify what product is affected, determine the product source, investigate the issue and retrieve the product throughout the distribution chain.

• Consumer Feedback

  You are our most important link to the success and growth of The Driscoll's berry product line. If you have any feedback or comments please contact us immediately and we'll do all we can to answer any question you have.

  Consumer feedback and rapid response are an important part of Driscoll's Global Food Safety Program. Driscoll's toll-free call center is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year (in the US and Canada) at 1-800-555-7777 to receive feedback from consumers in the unlikely event that a contaminant is found in one of our products.