Information Regarding Cyclospora and Recall

Taylor Farms and our executives are integral figures in the stewardship and advancement of the produce industry. We co-founded the Center for Produce Safety and continue to support its work. We helped create the California and Arizona Leafy Green Agreements that set food safety protocols for growers to be certified. We helped create the Western Growers Center for Innovation and Technology and host it in our building. This is in addition to the advancements in technology and procedures driving our daily work.

Our Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) program meets or exceeds USDA’s GAPs standard. The program is built to meet the standard set by FDA’s FSMA Produce Safety Rule (21 CFR Part 112) — including controlled access to prevent human and animal intrusion, ongoing field monitoring, frequent evaluation of all water sources, including new and modified sources, strict worker health and hygiene protocols and rigorous sanitation programs. Our processing facilities operate under the FSMA Preventive Controls for Human Food Rule (21 CFR Part 117). Ranches are subject to annual internal and third-party GAP audits per ranch, pre-season ranch inspection, and pre-harvest lot inspection.

We hold our facilities to rigorous third-party standards, including Safe Quality Food (SQF) certification and Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) recognition, independently verified to ensure our food safety programs meet the highest benchmarks in the industry. We also strictly follow regulations set forth by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

We are a pioneer and industry leader in traceability. In fact, many industry standards applying traceability protocols to food safety were created by Taylor Farms over the years. Today, each of our products can be traced back to its original source — including grower, ranch, lot, harvest date and time. Every lot carries continuous chain-of-custody documentation from field to shipment, enabling real-time traceback rather than after-the-fact reconstruction. This allows us to quickly isolate, identify, and address any food safety concerns if they arise. As part of this commitment, we support and adhere to the high food safety standards set by the Food Traceability Rule and have already implemented traceback protocols across our operations ahead of the compliance deadline.

We employ some of the most advanced sanitation practices in the world of fresh-cut produce and our facilities feature state-of-the-art equipment intentionally designed for ease of sanitation, including custom cleanable spin dryers that minimize contamination risks. Our teams invented SmartWash Solutions, a USDA-tested and -verified wash system. This innovative washing process ensures consistent chemistry in the water levels for cleaner, fresher product.

Our team has inline monitoring and verification to identify and address potential issues in our processes before they become problems. Monitoring covers water quality and use, soil amendments and fertilizers, worker health and hygiene, sanitation of equipment, tools, and facilities, animal and pest control, harvesting practices, field sanitation and post-harvest handling and storage.

We test our leafy green commodities for a variety of pathogens, going above and beyond any industry guidance or requirements. A positive result on a product triggers rejection of the entire lot — not partial disposition — and initiates research to inform future risk assessments; historical results feed forward into ongoing risk modeling rather than being treated as closed incidents. Water sources are tested for indicator organisms.

Our valued team members, from farm to facility, undergo rigorous food safety training. This includes initial food safety orientation training, as well as regular refresher/update training that covers topics including personal protective equipment (PPE), good manufacturing practices (GMPs), hygiene, sanitation, harvest best practices, animal intrusion inspections, pathogen testing, auditing and monitoring protocols, and other topics.

We partner with growers who share our strict commitment to food safety. In addition to stringent vetting and selection procedures that go beyond industry requirements, we reevaluate ranches regularly. Physical inspections evaluate record review, historical microbiological results, irrigation system inspection, and adjacent land review. Selection is based on documented track record, not just a site visit. Ranch performance history feeds forward — a ranch’s standing can change season to season based on results, rather than a single approval persisting indefinitely. These ranches, including partner ranches, undergo regular third-party GFSI audits.