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SVM™ - Food/Produce
“ The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) counsel that supply chain management is one key to compliance with the Food Safety Modernization Act
(FSMA). Shortly after enactment of FSMA, FDA
Deputy Commission Michael Taylor explained that food companies must be vigilant in managing their supply relationships because responsibility for FSMA compliance and safe food production and processing falls on each food company.”
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A few minutes about us.

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COMPANY BACKGROUND
Protect Consumers
Protect our Client’s Brand
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COMPANY BACKGROUND
Global Food Safety Supply Chain Management & Consulting
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Services
Supply Chain Verification Management
Foreign Supplier Verification
(FSMA Compliant)
Expert review of Audits & Corrective Actions
HACCP Review and Evaluation
Consultation
Scope
Food, Packaging Manufacturers,
Distribution Centers,
Warehouses - Food/Non-Food,
Produce Supply Chain,
Cross Docks – Terminal Markets
Brokers
Current Profile
Oversee 1,500+ Supplier/Vendors
 2,000+ Facilities
Operating in 47 Countries –All Regions
Managing 11 CB Relationships
2013 – Managed 2,500+ Audits
 3500+ Corrective Actions
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COMPANY BACKGROUND
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Charles F. Cook Ph.D.
35+ years Experience Academia, Food
Manufacturing, Food Safety, Quality,
Regulatory Affairs, Audit Management
Jean Thurber-Cook
23 Years Medical Profession
 Founder & Managing Partner
Cook & Thurber
 Founder & Managing Partner
Country Fare Consulting
 Advisor – Consultant FDA/USDA
 United Fresh Harmonized
Calibration Committee
 Trade Association Technical
Committees
 Adjunct at Univ. of Wis.
 Law Firm Administrator
 Founder & Managing
Partner Cook & Thurber
 Founder & Managing
Partner Country Fare
Consulting
Jennifer Welsh
18+ years Telecom Industry
• Senior Quality Project
Manager, Country Fare
Consulting
Our Staff & Consultants
5 Full-time administrators
Over 20 on-demand experts
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COMPANY BACKGROUND
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Cloud Technologies for Operations, Quality & Food Safety
Drive Performance, Protect your Brand
Mitch Porche, President & CEO
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Food Safety risk is increasing ; problem and solution is getting more complex

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October 2013
USDA – 12 Recalls
• Listeria
• Salmonella
• E.Coli
• Allergens
• Foreign Materials
October 2013
FDA – 18 Recalls
• E.Coli – pumpkin
• Non potable water-cookies
• Cyclospora – Salads
• Listeria – Salads
• Spoilage – Cheese
• Allergens – Pasta
• Listeria, Salmonella – Cheese
• Lead – Spices
• Salmonella - Peppers
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DEFINING THE PROBLEM | RISK IS INCREASING
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• Food Business News Report – August 3, 2013
– Percentage of outbreaks linked to leafy vegetables. Dairy on the increase
• CDC Report “ Surveillance for food borne disease outbreaks in US
1998 – 2008”
– FDA concerned about tree nut safety
– Packaged salads may be source of Cyclospora outbreak
(Not confirmed – Damaged Brand)
• Canadian Study
– 594 samples of packaged salad
• Cyclospora
• Cryptosporidum
• Giardia
1.7%
5.9%
1.8%
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DEFINING THE PROBLEM | RISK IS INCREASING
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“ The relationship between retailers and auditor is a conspiracy”
“ These retailers set the specifications for fresh fruit and ignored them”
“ I would urge US Attorney to consider leveling criminal charges against the retailers Wal-Mart and Kroger “ and against Primus the auditing firm.”
What were the Wal-Mart and Kroger expectations from the audit?
What are your expectations from and AUDIT?
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DEFINING THE PROBLEM | RISK IS INCREASING
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“ One who sells any product in a defective condition unreasonably dangerous to the user or consumer or to his property is subject to liability for physical harm thereby caused to the ultimate user or consumer, or to his property, if (a) the seller is engaged in the business of selling such a product, and (b) it is expected to and does reach the user or consumer without substantial change in the condition in which it is sold.”
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It’s getting more complex

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DEFINING THE PROBLEM | GETTING MORE COMPLEX
Re-DC, Exporter Warehouse Manufacture Vendor Distribution Center
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Copacker
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DEFINING THE PROBLEM | GETTING MORE COMPLEX
Manufacture Vendor Distribution Center
Performance & Compliance
 Who are my good suppliers?
 Who are my at-risk suppliers?
 What trends are in my supply chain?
 How do I demonstrate compliance?
Re-DC, Exporter Warehouse
CB Management
 Who are my Certifying
Bodies?
 Are they credible?
 How do they know who, when to audit?
 How do they communicate results?
 How do the payments work?
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 Who are my vendors?
 What do they supply?
Co-
 Who do they supply to?
 How do I contact them?
 Are the certified?

2
When were they certified?
 Have they performed
Corrective Actions?
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DEFINING THE PROBLEM | GETTING MORE COMPLEX
Copyright Country Fare Consulting LLC, 2013 All Rights Reserved

DEFINING THE PROBLEM | GETTING MORE COMPLEX
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Performance & Compliance
 Who are my good suppliers?
 Who are my at-risk suppliers?
 What trends are in my supply chain?
 How do I demonstrate compliance?
CB Management
 Who are my Certifying
Bodies?
 Are they credible?
 How do they know who, when to audit?
 How do they communicate results?
 How do the payments work?
Supplier Management
 Who are my vendors?
 What do they supply?
 Who do they supply to?
 How do I contact them?
 Are the certified?
 When were they certified?
 Have they performed
Corrective Actions?
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What does it mean for YOU?

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ARE YOU EFFICIENT?| IMPACT
1.
How comfortable are you with your current audit scheme? Are you confident that you are addressing all of your brand standards and risks?
2.
How do you stay on top of “Industry Best Practices?”
3.
How well do you know your Certifying Bodies? How do you stay on top of their performance?
4.
How transparent is your current process? Do you know where your suppliers stand with respect to a). Performance b). Status c). Regulatory compliance
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ARE YOU EFFICIENT?| IMPACT
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1.
Are you getting all of the resources you need to meet your Quality,
Safety and Brand Standards?
2.
What resources are you applying to this program? Is it the
“highest and best use?” Is it achieving your goals?
3.
How valid is your vendor list and contact information? How much effort do you put into maintaining it?
4.
What technologies do you have to support this program? What does it cost? Is it meeting your needs?
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What schemes are appropriate, why and what does it mean?

WHAT ARE YOUR EXPECTATIONS?| AUDIT STANDARDS
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1. Meet General Industry Standards
2. Meet Minimum Regulations and Guidelines
3. Comparable to Industry Best Practices
_______________________________
What are YOUR Specific Expectations?
– Industry Best Practices
– Regulations and Guidelines
– Your Specific Addendums
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ARE YOU AIMING HIGHER?| AUDIT STANDARDS
Level of Brand Protection
INDUSTRY BEST PRACTICES
REGULATORY & GUIDELINES
INDUSTRY PRACTICES
Your Brand?
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WHAT DOES IT MEAN?| AUDIT STANDARDS
 Agrees and accepts scheme criteria
 Agrees with the scheme weighting and rating
 Agrees with scheme audit rating and accept/reject criteria
 Is confident with CB’s audit capabilities and performance
The selected Scheme and CB represent Your’s assurance of Food Safety
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ARE YOU CONFIDENT?| AUDIT STANDARDS
 Are you supporting an acceptable “Standard of Care”?
 Has the program been verified to meet an acceptable
“Standard of Care”?
 Is the program aligned with the your Mission Statement and implementation strategy?
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Leverage our people, expertise and technology. A Managed Solution .

A MANAGED SOLUTION
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Manufacturers | Re-Distribution Centers | Warehouses | Distribution Centers
Growers | Ranches | Packing Sheds | Harvest Crews | Coolers | Cross Docs | Terminals
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LET US DO THE HEAVY LIFTING| A MANAGED SOLUTION
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End-to-End Solution for Supply Chain Verification Management
1.
Management of all Supplier/Vendor Data on Superior Technology
Platform
2.
Development & Maintenance of Audit Schemes
3.
Selection, Management & Performance of Certifying Body’s
4.
Manage entire Audit Process
5.
Reporting to Vendor & Client
6.
Continuous updates & feedback – We’re in this together
7.
Technology Platform provides total transparency
Country Fare DOES NOT conduct audits | No conflict-of-interest
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Outsource the work. You own the program .

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IT ALL COMES DOWN TO PROCESS| A MANAGED SOLUTION
Setup
Vendor
Audit
Planning
Identify auditable units and relationships
 Field Operations
 Post Harvest
Activities
 Manufacturer
 Distribution Center
 Warehouse (Food – non Food)
Identify Appropriate
Audit
Identify Appropriate
Audit Scheme
Identify Appropriate
Certifying Body
Setup vendor profile
 Legal name / entity
 Location
 Contact
 Commodities
Audit
Scheduling
Coordinate with
Supplier/Vendor to determine Audit preferences
Set audit completion dates and assign to CB
Notifications to vendor, client and
Certifying Body
Audit
Management
Monitor schedule pipeline
Manage Corrective
Action Process
 Review Audits &
Ratings
 Calibration of CB –
Shadow Audits
Notifications to vendor, client and
Certifying Body
Reporting &
Re-factoring
Identify High-Risk
Vendors and notify
Provide Final Audit
Reports to vendor and
Client
Review Ratings
Distributions
 Review Audits &
Ratings
 Send Corrective Action
Letter
Review program, adjust as needed
HACCP plan review
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IT ALL COMES DOWN TO PROCESS| A MANAGED SOLUTION
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BUILT ON A POWERFUL TECHNOLOGY PLATFORM| A MANAGED SOLUTION
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Secure storage data & documents
 Food Safety Plans
 Crisis Management/Recall plans
 Preventive Control
 Foreign Supplier Verification
 FDA Registration Verification
Oversee Relationships & Process
 Identify all supply chain process entities linked to specific supplier
 Documents all relevant information for each process entity
Powerful reporting & insights
 Status & performance
 Dashboards
Powered by
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Service
On-line Document Storage & Record Mgt.
Set up & management of Supplier/Vendors
Audit Planning
SVM
Company
“A”
Company
“B”
Audit Scheduling
Audit Management
Corrective Actions / Preventative Measures
Management Reporting and Refactoring
Notifications & Escalations
Workflow-enabled Technology
Customizable Technology Platform
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Copyright Country Fare Consulting LLC, 2013 All Rights Reserved

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How the program is financed and who will pay for it?
Total Management Fee per Audit *
Service Fee & Technology Fee bundled
 CB will incorporate the Total Management Fees with Audit fee paid by vendor
 CFC invoices CB monthly for Total Management Fees
*Fees dependent on number and type of audits processed
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 CFC’s Supplier Verification Management (SVM) provides:
 Total produce Global supply chain Food Safety Audit
Management
 Assurance for product safety
 Demonstrable due diligence in protecting clients customers and brand integrity
 CFC exclusively represents Client’s interest as an extension of the client (Co-source) as an independent contractor
 SVM is a “Process-Driven” Service & Technology platform
 Client owns the Program . CFC provides expertise , management services and industry focus
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Other way’s Country Fare Consulting can help.
Appendix

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 General Food Safety & Quality Consulting
 Assist Client in Development of Produce Requirements
Produce Quality
Produce Food Safety
Growers
Harvest Crews
Packing Sheds
Coolers
Produce Processors
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Industry status and developments.
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AUDIT SCHEMES| PRODUCE SAFETY
 LGMA – Leafy Green Marketing Agreement
– California – Arizona (USDA-State)
– Other States and Mexico – LGMA “like” with CB’s
 Tomato Metrics (T-GAPs) - Tomato Protocol for
Fresh Tomato supply chain
– CTF (USDA-State)
– CB’s
 Client Standards
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AUDIT SCHEMES| PRODUCE SAFETY (Continued)
 Harmonized Scheme (United Fresh)
– Field Operations
– Post Harvest
 USDA (AMS) Audit Schemes
– Commodity specific check lists
• Mushroom
• Cantaloupe
– Farm Review
– Field Packing – Harvesting
– House Packing
– Storage – Transport
– Wholesale Distribution – Terminal Markets
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AUDIT SCHEMES| PRODUCE SAFETY (Continued)
 Global GAP – PSS and IFA
 Canada GAP
 SQF (Level I)
 Primus
 Primus GFS
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AUDIT SCHEMES| PREFERRED
Audit Schemes Preferred by Country Fare Consulting
 LGMA - Leafy Greens
 Harmonized (amenable to all commodities)
 Tomato Metrics
Why we prefer them
 Broad stakeholder input – no proprietary ownership
 Continued stakeholder management and review
 Non-scored – does not give false sense of security
 (Accurate assessment of performance) Client determines accept/reject level
 Possible Ratings
– Acceptable
– Minimally Meets Audit Expectations
– Not Acceptable (IAR’s)
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Background and interpretation

UNITED FRESH| VISION
“Develop a harmonized food safety standard and checklist for GAP audits, and globally-acceptable auditing process, necessary to protect consumers from potential hazards that may contaminate produce at that state of the supply chain, and that will build efficiencies into the supplier audit process.”
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One audit by any credible third party, acceptable to all buyers
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UNITED FRESH| SCOPE
A single, generic checklist for GAP/GHP audits
 Focused on food safety practices of pre and post farm gate produce operations (as defined by the scope of the FDA
GAPs)
 With clearly defined requirements that minimize opportunity for misunderstanding , misinterpretation and
“standards creep” by operations and auditors
 Globally recognized, but specifically applicable to North
America buyers
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UNITED FRESH| SCOPE (Continued)
 Requirements that are risk-based, science-based, attainable, auditable and verifiable
 Considers all microbiological, chemical and physical hazards “reasonably likely to occur”, consistent with potential hazards addressed in FDA regulatory guidance's
 Scalable to all size fresh produce operations
 Considerate of regional and commodity specific food safety needs
 Sufficiently non-prescriptive to be accepting of equivalent food safety practices
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UNITED FRESH| PARTICIPATION
 Wide spectrum of produce industry (leafy greens, tree fruit, melons, mushrooms, berries, root crop) representation
– Growers and other pre-harvest activities (Trade
Associations)
– Processors
– Food service
– Retail
– State and Federal Regulatory Agencies
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UNITED FRESH| PROCESS
Identified a small but influential Steering Committee of major industry representatives with the ability to drive broad industry acceptance of common standards:
McDonalds
YUM Brands
Pro*Act
US Foodservice
Darden
Jack in the Box
SYSCO
SUBWAY®
Markon
River Ranch
Del Monte Fresh
Taylor Farms
Wegmans
Ahold
Kroger
Loblaws
Safeway
Schnucks
Publix
Wal-Mart
Food Lion
Supervalu
Costco
14 Produce Associations
Chiquita Fresh
Sun World International
DiMare Company
Green Giant Fresh
Sunkist Growers
Castellini Company
McEntire Produce
Dole Food Company
Taminura & Antle
The Giumarra Companies
C.H. Robinson
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UNITED FRESH| PROCESS (Continued)
 Standard to be freely accessible on United Fresh and other Association websites
 Auditors to be calibrated by train-the-trainer sessions for consistent use of the standard
 Process for use of the standard by auditing bodies and auditors. Free use of the standard
 While consistent use of the standard is critical, management of the audit process and auditor performances is in the hands of CB’s
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UNITED FRESH| PROCESS (Continued)
 United Fresh to be the Secretariat of the standard, responsible to the industry for maintaining the standard and serving as point of contact for inquiries and request for change
 Technical Working Group (TWG) to remain responsible for content of the standard
 United Fresh to be responsible for periodic (semi-annual) meetings of the TWG to assess the standard
 Process must be formalized to solicit input, incorporate new science and feedback from audits, make and communicate changes to the standards
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UNITED FRESH| PROCESS (Continued)
 Making the standard freely available for its intended use, while assuring it is financially sustainable
 Managing how the standard is used by audit organizations
 Auditor training and calibration
 Process to resolve disputes on interpretation of the standard
 Process to update, adjust the standard as needed
 Process to accept audits using the standard
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UNITED FRESH| AUDIT FEATURES
 Excellent training tool, easy to use and understand
 Audit output non-scored – buyers free to make purchase decisions based on number of conformances or non-conformances
 Audit rating not biases toward high scores giving a false sense of security
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UNITED FRESH| WHERE ARE WE?
These produce-buying companies (and others) endorse* audits using the Harmonized Standards
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* Some conditions may apply; please check with your customer/buyer
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UNITED FRESH| WHERE ARE WE? (Continued)
These audit organizations (and others) are using or plan to use the Harmonized Standards for GAP audits. Audit Firms have
Global reach.
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