Continental Fresh LLC--an importer of offshore produce based in Coconut Grove, Fla.--has announced that it has fully implemented a case-level labeling and traceability system. The company will also apply Produce Traceability Initiative-compliant labels on each of its offshore cucumber and winter squash cases – something that no one else in the industry is doing.
Continental Fresh LLC’s commitment to traceability and food safety is reconfirmed with the recent outbreak of Salmonella on cucumbers from Mexico, as well as the announcement by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration of regulations on produce safety, foreign supplier and third-party audits that make up the Food Safety Modernization Act.
“We expect to be the only offshore cucumber importers in the country to have PTI case-level tagging originating at our farms in Honduras,” says Albert Perez, president of Continental Fresh LLC. “We are also implementing this on all of our retail and process butternut and spaghetti squashes.”
Perez added, “Honduran cucumbers have come a long way in terms quality and consistency. Customers have put great faith in our programs and each year more of the needs of the east coast are met by our products. As a leader in the import of Honduran vegetables, we at Continental Fresh LLC hope that others follow our initiative in making it the premium choice in food safety.”
The import season for Honduran cucumbers runs from late December until mid-March. Butternut and spaghetti squashes are available from January through April.
Continental Fresh | 305-860-9611 | ContinentalFresh.com
Sign up for Food Safety Magazine’s bi-weekly emails!
