Page 80 - 0619

GEORGIA GROWN PRODUCE
GDA RECOGNIZED FOR CHARACTER, QUALITY By Doug Ohlemeier
Last summer, the Association of Food and Drug Officials awarded Georgia Department of Agriculture’s food safety division the Elliot O. Grosvenor Food Safety Award. The award recognizes leaders who best display improvement, innovation or sustained high perfor- mance within a food safety program. The GDA was recognized for making “tremendous strides in building a high- quality regulatory program that is orga- nized, focused and accountable.”
The award is a big accomplishment for the GDA, says Heath Wetherington, general manager of Baker Farms LLC, in Norman Park, GA. “The Georgia Grown logo communicates to the consumer a highest quality product produced to the highest standards, that all the food safety standards have been adhered to
PHOTO COURTESY OF GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
in order to display that Georgia Grown logo,” he says. “It says a lot toward everyone’s commitment to making sure when consumers ask where their food is coming from, they have confidence. People want to know where their food is coming from and want to know what
they’re eating. They want to know what practices are being used, what food safety standards are being met.”
The Georgia Grown program success- fully promotes Georgia’s variety of produce. “Georgia Grown has become an exciting and essential marketing tool for suppliers and retailers,” says Jordan Carter, director of sales and marketing for Leger & Sons, Inc. in Cordale, GA. “Today’s consumer is contemporary. Transparency matters. The consumer can actually see the benefits of buying local quality produce while supporting local businesses. It’s a two-fer.”
Georgia’s brand gets noticed, says Wetherington. “They call for it and prefer it because of the confidence they have in what goes into being a Georgia Grown member.”
80 / JUNE 2019 / PRODUCE BUSINESS