Ready Pac Press Releases

November 3rd, 2006

To Our Valued Ready Pac Customers -

Providing the highest quality and safest products has always been Ready Pac's utmost priority. Since I founded the company nearly 40 years ago, our company has earned an impeccable reputation for producing only the finest quality products. Today, I am still the Chairman and Chief Executive of the company and extremely proud of the food safety record that Ready Pac has earned since I started this business in 1969. We are a privately owned, family oriented business. I still find great joy in touring the plant facilities when I arrive early in the morning to talk with our associates and get a firsthand look at the wonderful range of fresh-cut fruits and vegetables we make.

Over the years, we have assembled a team of the brightest, most highly respected experts in the industry who literally wrote the book on food safety for the fresh cut produce industry. This team, led by Brian Zomorodi, has dedicated their professional lives to improving food safety throughout the industry as it is our policy to share best practices with competitors to enhance the safety of all produce. Brian has more than 20 years of experience in developing and applying the science of food safety to fresh produce. My education in the produce industry also began at a young age, learning from my father who was a pioneer in providing fresh produce to Los Angeles-area restaurants. Clearly, produce is in our blood, it is our livelihood, and my team at Ready Pac lives this passion by producing only the highest quality, safest products every day.

It is an understatement to say that we were saddened by the recent industry-wide E.coli outbreak and the impact it has had on the victims and their families. While no spinach product produced in a Ready Pac facility was connected to the recent E.coli outbreak, we believe that any produce related illness is one too many. Brian Zomorodi's top priority now is to support the FDA and its work with other industry experts to identify the cause of the outbreak and make any improvements that could further improve food safety throughout the industry. Brian Jameson, an industry leader with more than 12 years of industry procurement experience, ensures that these standards are delivered by our growers.

Since 1969, Ready Pac has produced literally billions and billions of servings of fresh cut salads, fruits and vegetables with a food safety record that is unequalled in the industry. This year alone, consumers have enjoyed nearly two billion servings of our products for their great taste, nutritional value and convenience without thinking twice about food safety. Our team at Ready Pac takes this trust extremely seriously, and we will continue to earn it through adherence to our incredibly rigorous operating standards in the planting of the seeds right through to the distribution of finished products to our customers.

Please see the attached excerpts from our food safety policies that provide examples of our exacting standards. These standards are the foundation of our operations and designed to achieve what we call “diamond quality” performance. We are proud of our operations and hope you find these interesting.

For many of you, the freshness and great taste that comes with every bite of a Ready Pac product is proof enough of our rigorous standards. For others, we have shared these highlights to increase your understanding of our how we have earned our stellar food safety reputation. I welcome you to contact the leader of our Consumer Affairs Team, Mary Toscano, at 1-800-800-7822 to answer any other questions you may have.

With my sincerest thanks,

Dennis Gertmenian
Founder and Chairman
Ready Pac Foods

Highlights of Ready Pac Food Safety Policies for Leafy Greens

Selecting and Harvesting of Raw Materials:

Produce is sourced from a variety of agricultural regions and field locations across U.S. and Canada . This supply diversity allows us to optimize quality and freshness depending on local growing conditions.
Produce is sourced only from growers and suppliers that are in compliance with GAP Guidelines (Good Agricultural Practices) as published by FDA. Compliance is verified by internal and third party audits.

Produce is not accepted from fields if they have been flooded or if they catch water runoff from commercial cattle operations or cattle pastures. A safety audit is conducted on any field that has been exposed to flood waters prior to re-approval for future cultivation.
Produce is only accepted from fields that are beyond a pre-established safety buffer zone from commercial cattle operations, cattle pastures or other wildlife that could contaminate the fields or the produce. The buffer zone is determined based on the specific conditions such as land topography, wind patterns, and presence of natural and man-made barriers.

All irrigation water is currently tested once per growing season for microbial safety including coliform and E.coli. Following the recent outbreak, we are initiating more frequent water testing, including monthly for shallow wells (less than 50 feet) and surface water, and quarterly for deep wells (greater than 50 feet).
Guidelines for the placement of the toilet/hand wash stations for ease of use by the workers in the field state that they be no further than a quarter mile or a 5 minute walk away from work areas. One latrine is needed for every 20 employees of each gender.
Proactive measures such as rodent traps and noise devices are used to scare off birds and other animals. If animal activity is found, a buffer zone is established making any land inside the buffer zone un-harvestable. The size of the buffer zone is based on a specific risk assessment including the type of animal and animal activity. Dogs are never allowed in the fields.

Only regulatory agency-approved chemical and composted fertilizers are used. No raw manure or bio solids are allowed. A certificate of analysis is required on composted material to confirm the absence of E.coli 0157:H7.
Cooling of produce within four hours of harvesting between 34 and 38 degrees Fahrenheit
Trucks are cleaned and pre-cooled to 36 degrees before loading. Temperatures inside the trailer are monitored continuously during transit through on-board electronic tracking devices. Product found to be out of compliance is eliminated from the supply chain and discarded.
Every produce lot undergoes quality inspection at the cooling facilities and at the Ready Pac processing plants.

Processing in our Plants:

Only potable water is used for the washing of produce. This is verified by internal and third-party auditors such as Sillikier and AIB.
The produce cleaning process utilizes both agitation and three independent washings in chlorinated solutions prior to final rinsing with tap water. Ready Pac invented the triple wash process in 1990 that has become the industry standard.
The effectiveness of the washing systems is verified through daily microbial testing of finished goods.
Established FDA and GMP guidelines are strictly enforced for workers, including the use of protective equipment to prevent skin-to-product contact.
Stringent plant sanitation procedures are mandated. Their effectiveness is verified through daily environmental microbial testing, including for pathogens.

Many of Ready Pac operations are also USDA certified with on-site USDA inspectors monitoring compliance with food safety standards.
Product retention samples are retained throughout their code date life for quality conformance.
These processes and standards provide a level of cleanliness and safety that is superior to what consumers or foodservice operators can achieve on their own.

Finished Goods and Transit to Stores:

Trucks are cleaned and pre-cooled to 36 degrees Fahrenheit before loading.

Produce is transported at proper cold-chain temperature of between 34 degrees and 40 degrees Fahrenheit throughout the distribution process.
Electronic temperature monitoring devices are used to continuously transmit temperature information throughout the transit process for review and conformance. If temperatures aren't kept between 34 degrees and 40 degrees Fahrenheit, the product is removed from the supply chain and discarded.
All growers and suppliers have a comprehensive trace-back program capable of linking products to their source ranch and lot. In addition, Ready Pac's product traceability program is designed and continuously tested to identify both the source of raw materials as well as the destination of any product we make within two hours.

In summary, food safety is Ready Pac's number one priority. Our comprehensive field-to-market safety standards are the foundation of Ready Pac's impeccable food safety record since 1969. Our technical experts are at the forefront of efforts to develop and improve the industry's food safety standards to deliver safer and more wholesome produce to our customers and consumers.

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