Food Safety
Cultivating people and delighting consumers is something we’ve always done here at Stemilt. Food safety has always been our top priority, but formally since the 1990s. Becoming SQF certified before it was a requirement was important to us because we believe in transparency and doing the right thing even when nobody is looking.
On this page, we invite you to meet our food safety, team and read more about the certifications that our company has met. You can also download current certifications for your own documentation process.
Lisa Myers
Food Safety and Compliance Manager
Lisa returned to Stemilt Growers in 2015 and manages the food safety and customer compliance needs.
- Customer compliance – product and packaging specifications and requirements
- Ensure Stemilt stays in compliance with food safety laws, policies and required agriculture standards both in the field and the warehouses
- Maintain customer relationships through compliance requests
- Implementing good manufacturing practices and partaking in all food safety, customer and regulatory audits
- Ongoing maintenance of Organic Systems Plan and Organic Certification
- Oversee internal warehouse and field audits
Darcey Brown
Food Safety & Environmental Compliance
Darcey has over 30 years of experience working for Stemilt, which has resulted in an intimate knowledge of all things production related.
- Point person on warehouse GMP enforcement
- Environmental compliance – runoff, wastewater compliance
- Tracks and organizes company-wide food safety training
- Liaison between Stemilt and local regulatory agencies
- Critical insight on relationship between production and food safety
Melissa Gonzalez
Field Food Safety Specialist
A faithful and devoted Stemilt team member since 2014, Melissa is bilingual and a resident expert when it comes to orchard and harvest activity compliance.
- Field food safety compliance
- Internal and 3rd party audits
- Water systems management and spray application oversight
- Providing solutions and realistic troubleshooting around corrective actions
- Ongoing grower relations – working with fieldmen to ensure coverage
Rosa Madrigal
Field Food Safety Specialist
Our newest team member, Rosa has been with Stemilt Ag Services since 2012 and recently joined the Stemilt Food Safety department.
- Experienced field food safety at our SAS ranches in the Pasco area
- Orchard worker specialist in health and safety
- EFI team member
- Assisting our growers in the Pasco, Othello, Mattawa and Royal City areas with SQF and FSMA requirements
- Attending grower third party audits and conducting internal audits
Certification Programs
Safe Quality Food Institute
The Safe Quality Food (SQF) Program is a comprehensive and rigorous food safety program that is recognized by retailers, brand owners, and food service providers world-wide. Based on Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) standards, it is benchmarked to the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) and is used by Stemilt to certify our operations both in the field and at the packinghouses. Stemilt operates under the “multi-site” program offered by SQF. In fact, Stemilt was the first multi-site operation certified by SQF in 2000; paving the way for decades of successful food safety compliance and continuous improvement on our ranches in and in our facilities.
USDA Organic
Stemilt has always been committed to providing an organic option for our customers and has grown to encompass a wide variety of organic choices. Becoming a certified organic handler requires a specific program with detailed protocols that ensure the integrity of the organic product throughout the entire supply chain, beginning with the grower. Stemilt is certified through the Washington State Department of Agriculture, which is benchmarked to the National Organic Program standards. We make sure to verify that all organic growers have current certifications, and that the production operations are prepared to ensure organic product maintains its integrity throughout the process.
EFI Certification
Stemilt is completely EFI (Equitable Food Initiative) certified; all company ranches and packinghouses have achieved compliance. EFI is a comprehensive and dynamic ethical standard that ensures that an equitable and sustainable food system brings value to all who are involved in the food chain supply – growers, farmworkers, retailers, and consumers.
Sedex
Stemilt’s packing partners have successfully completed a SMETA audit (Sedex Members Ethical Trade Audit) for their social certification program. SMETA assesses a site based on their organization’s standards of labor, health, safety, environment, and business ethics. These are high quality audits that encompass all aspects of responsible business practices.
USDA Agriculture Marketing Service
In order to supply USDA programs, such as schools and institutional facilities, Stemilt has chosen to certify the packinghouses and many fields to the USDA GAP ( Good Agricultural Practices) and GHP ( Good Handling Practices) programs. This voluntary certification verifies an operation’s efforts to minimize the risk of contamination of fresh fruits by microbial pathogens by adhering to generally recognized industry best practices.