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This article highlights the best on-farm practices for leafy green safety. Kale, chard and spinach are top DFI crops and they are on our mind as they have thrived in the hoop houses this winter. This topic is part of an ongoing series to provide concise, crop specific guidance for preventing food borne illness – with DFI's own practical tips thrown in.

Consumption of leafy greens has led to hundreds of outbreaks of foodborne illness in past decades (including as recently as last fall), due to contamination from Listeria, E. coli and Salmonella (Colorado State University, 2021). Kale, chard and spinach are popular and relatively easy to grow up here in the high desert, and they are in high demand at restaurants and markets. They are eaten cooked, but also raw – which makes on-farm produce safety practices a must.

The Produce Safety Rule offers comprehensive guidance for managing the production of leafy greens. However, the science and understanding of effective practices continues to evolve as we learn more from outbreaks. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released a 2020 Action Plan to improve outbreak prevention and response practices, focusing on agricultural water, compost, trace back processes and data, and consideration of adjacent land uses. The Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement (LGMA) program – the world leader in produce safety practices for greens – also recently strengthened water quality standards well beyond what is contained in current federal regulations under the Produce Safety Rule. The LGMA programs are continuing to further improve water standards and they are also looking at other practices concerning adjacent land use, compost and several other areas noted in the FDA 2020 Action Plan.

Daily Spinach packhouse hygiene checklist

Food safety tips for leafy green vegetables
Leafy greens are leafy vegetables that are an important part of a healthy eating pattern. Leafy greens usually have crisp green leaves and stalks, and should be eaten raw or lightly cooked to preserve the nutrients.

Popular types of leafy greens include:

lettuce
arugula
bok choy
spinach
Because leafy greens are often eaten raw, they can be a source of food poisoning.

By making sure they are properly handled, washed, prepared, and stored, you can enjoy the health benefits of leafy greens and help prevent food poisoning for yourself and your family.


On this page:
Leafy greens and food poisoning
Shopping
Chilling/storing
Cleaning
Preparing
Leafy greens and food poisoning
While leafy greens do not naturally contain bacteria that can make you sick, the leaves can become contaminated because they are grown close to the ground.

Eating leafy greens that have been contaminated with harmful bacteria can make you sick. Contaminated leafy greens have been linked to cases of food poisoning caused by Salmonella and E. coli.

Spinach Food safety & management

Federal food safety officials said fresh spinach is "as safe as it was before the outbreak," even though investigators have not determined the cause of a deadly E. coli outbreak.

FDA officials said yesterday that consumers should continue to avoid spinach recalled Sept. 14 by Natural Selection Foods LLC, a fresh produce processor based in San Juan Bautista, Calif. Four other companies have recalled spinach they got from Natural Selection.

But officials cleared spinach grown in the Salinas Valley, after warning consumers for the past week not to eat spinach from that area.

"Based on where we are at this point in the investigation, spinach is as safe as it was before this event," David Acheson, a top FDA food safety official, said yesterday.

"The outbreak seems to be winding down," said Howard Backer, acting public health officer for the state of California.

Spinach  Supplier Food Safety & management

Nitrate monitoring in spinach and lettuce - surveillance programme
Green leafy vegetables such as lettuce and spinach naturally contain high levels of nitrate and are the main source of dietary nitrate. This programme, which involves sampling and analysis of green leafy vegetables, provides the FSA with robust information to inform its policies addressing potential risks to public health.

The European Commission set maximum levels for nitrate in lettuce and spinach grown for consumption. Climatic conditions and levels of light have a major influence on the levels of nitrate in certain vegetables such as lettuce and spinach; in general, nitrate levels are higher in winter. In recognition of this direct effect of climatic conditions on the natural uptake of nitrates by plants, some member states had a special derogation (until December 2008, then extended) for higher nitrate maximum levels. Under these provisions member states were required to supply results of nitrate monitoring annually to the Commission.

The monitoring survey (FS111001) provided appropriate data for the extended period of the derogation. Domestic and imported lettuce, spinach, rocket and other leafy green vegetable samples were collected for each calendar year 2009 to 2013 with the survey period ending in April 2014.

Following an evaluation by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), the Commission established higher MLs permanently and a new Commission Regulation (EC) No 1258/2011 came into force in December 2011. This Regulation set out new, permanent nitrate limits in green leafy vegetables and in addition MLs for rocket. Member states are still required to submit monitoring data to EFSA.

On completion of the monitoring period in April 2014 a new survey was commissioned under project code FS513408 to continue monitoring for the period May 2014 to April 2019.

A further survey was commissioned, under project code FS101228 covering the period July 2020 to March 2025. The first year of the survey has been completed and the report is below.