In this webinar, you will hear from multiple recognized researchers as they share their current knowledge, experience and perspective on pre-harvest product sampling and testing. 

Join us to learn more about this topic, hear from our expert speakers and participate in a designated Q&A time.

Western Growers © Copyright 2023

Pre-Harvest Product Sampling and Testing

On February 15, Western Growers is hosting a webinar to discuss data collection and analysis considerations to implement a pre-harvest product testing program for romaine lettuce. 

In July 2022, Western Growers submitted a final report to the California Leafy Green Marketing Agreement (CA LGMA) summarizing proposed revisions and comments on potential Pre-harvest Product Testing requirements for LGMA members. After reviewing this report, the CA LGMA requested a data collection/analysis plan for the proposed program, and a Data Task Force (DTF) completed a proposed plan on December 16, 2022. This webinar will provide an overview of the DTF proposal as well as of the current thinking of the CA LGMA. This webinar aims to deliberate a proposed one-year testing program and the data collection/analysis associated with it. 

From January 31, 2023, to February 15, 2023, Western Growers will receive comments on potential changes to the LGMA-approved metrics and the current data collection/analysis proposals. These documents can be accessed at the leafygreenguidance.com website, under "Important Documents". 

Meet the Speakers

Dr. Trevor Suslow
Consultant 
T&K Suslow Consulting, LLC

Dr. Trevor Suslow holds the faculty title of Extension Research Specialist Emeritus, University of California, Davis, Department of Plant Sciences, and has now extended his tenure of service at UCD to 29 years. Trevor recently founded T&K Suslow Consulting LLC, which combines expertise in entomology, plant pathology, research and development due diligence, produce quality and safety.  From 2018 to 2021, he served as the Vice President of Produce Safety for the Produce Marketing Association along with serving on the Center for Produce Safety Board of Directors at its creation in 2008, on the Technical Committee from 2008 to 2020 and continues to provide CPS technical consulting services.

Dr. Matthew Stasiewicz
Assistant Professor 
of Applied Food Safety 
Dept. of Food Science & Human Nutrition at University of Illinois

Dr. Matthew Stasiewicz is an Assistant Professor of Applied Food Safety in the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. 
He went to Michigan State University for undergraduate study, earning a B.S. in Biosystems Engineering, focusing on food process engineering. He then studied at Cornell, receiving an M.S. and Ph.D. in food microbiology, working on risk analysis in microbial food safety. 

One long-standing research thrust is the identification and management of persistent Listeria monocytogenes in food environments using modern DNA sequencing and improved data analysis techniques. His lab has also been developing a set of projects to improve sampling and testing for foodborne pathogens in large-scale food productions environments.

Dr. Donald Schaffner
Extension Specialist in Food Science and Distinguished Professor 
Rutgers University

Dr. Donald W. Schaffner is Extension Specialist in Food Science and Distinguished Professor at Rutgers University. His research interests include handwashing, cross-contamination and quantitative microbial risk assessment. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Food Technologists, the American Academy of Microbiology and International Association for Food Protection (IAFP), and he was the president of IAFP in 2013-2014. In his spare time, he co-hosts the Food Safety Talk and Risky or Not podcasts.

Dr. Channah Rock
Professor & Water Quality Specialist 
University of Arizona

Dr. Channah Rock is a Professor at the University of Arizona in the Department of Environmental Science and also maintains a joint appointment as a Water Quality Specialist with UA Cooperative Extension. Dr. Rock is PI on several projects relating to microbial evaluation of water quality for the protection of public health. Dr. Rock currently supports the CA and AZ LGMA’s by providing science-based recommendations for Ag Water Treatment under the new Irrigation Water Metrics. She holds a BS degree in Microbiology from New Mexico State University and an MS and PhD in Environmental Engineering from Arizona State University.