Food Safety/Food Security

Food Safety and Security is Serious Business

Food safety is everyone's responsibility and has been a fundamental part of Four Seasons' quality control program since day one. We have a comprehensive training program that continually trains our associates and reinforces the importance of meeting Food Manufacturing Practices and Food Safety Standards.

Our Quality Assurance (QA) team has years of experience working for the U.S. Department of Agriculture in completing field inspections and inspecting the operations, handling, and harvesting of fresh produce. We keep a solid rapport with U.S. Department of Agriculture Inspectors and continue to work with them on a daily basis to maintain the integrity, quality, and consistency of our produce for which we are known.

Four Seasons also has a Food Safety team that is responsible for identifying and minimizing food security risks. We are in total compliance with the Bioterrorism Act of 2002. All products are stored in a secure area with card access-only entrance doors. Security guards are on site 24/7 and all out bound trailers are secured with seal and lock.

"It's important that food is handled appropriately; that it gets to people fresh," says Ron Carkoski, President and CEO, Four Seasons Produce. "Food safety is everything from making sure the building and grounds are secure, to proper handling, temperature and humidity control, to traceability right to the seed company. We have to be able to provide – on four-hour notice – complete trace-up and trace-back on every item in this facility. Internationally, everything coming into the country has to be able to be traced back to its port of entrance into the U.S. This is a huge logistical task," he says, "but we have the most progressive computer systems in the industry to help us manage it."

The Four Seasons Family of Companies consistently has received top ratings from the following independent auditing companies:

  • 2007-2010 PrimusLabs.com Food Safety Third-party Audit (Superior rating)
  • 2007-2010 PrimusLabs.com Organic Certification Third-party Audit (Pass; No deficiencies were found)
  • Cook & Thurber Third-party Audit (Superior rating)
  • Denny's Restaurants Third-party Audit (Superior rating)
  • US Food and Drug Administration Inspection (Pass; No objectionable condition was observed under the Pass/Fail system)
  • Pennsylvania Certified Organic Third-party Audit (Pass; No deficiencies were found)