Large Organic Leafy Green Producer Benefits from Seaco Field Application Solution

Executive Summary Due to recent reports of E.Coli contamination of leafy green in the Salinas, CA and Yuma, AZ harvesting regions, the California-Leafy Green Marketing Agreement (LGMA) implemented irrigation water treatment ruling. This required disinfection of any and all surface water sources used for aerial sprinkler application in order to reduce the potential for in-field contamination of all leafy green produce. Noncompliance would result in the loss of multi-million-dollar contracts with major distributors and grocers throughout the US. Seaco Technologies partnered with the producer to provide a treatment solution for a total of 1158 acres of leafy greens within 28 days in order to meet compliance needs.

• Compliance required complete elimination of E.Coli in irrigation water during the last 21 days of irrigation prior to harvest.
• Compliance also required stringent documentation and records to validate outcome, as well as pass in-field inspections from a LGMA auditor.

CHALLENGES addition to developing a method of application to accomplish the desired results in a tight 4-week deadline, Seaco also had to address the following challenges:• The remote application sites provided no electrical power source for a conventional chemical injection system. • The solution needed to be simple and reliable, allowing for irrigation operators to function without difficulties and significant labor commitment.• The solution needed to withstand poor water supply and quality (high turbidity/sand and considerable biological load). • The solution needed to provide a method of immediate in-field validation to meet the tightly scheduled irrigation events required by the production calendar.

The Seaco Solution Seaco met the tight deadline ahead of schedule, producing the first 10 of the eventual 18 required Seaco-Field Treatment Units and accomplishing all requirements set forth by the customer and LGMA guidelines. The system required no electrical power, and used a reliable and cost-effective dilution system to inject an OMRI-approved sanitizer. E.Coli colony counts were reduced from > 200 CFU/mL to 0 CFU/mL while maintaining a consistent disinfectant residual throughout the irrigation system. On-site validation was preformed via liquid ATP analysis of irrigation water – values reduced to near “0” RLU. These disinfection results were supported with randomized sample analysis by the customer’s food safety division confirming successful treatment for each field.

RESULTS and Future Plans The agricultural producer met the compliance requirements for LGMA CDFA Certification, providing the distributors added assurance that the finished products were safe for consumption. Simultaneously, they were able to acquire new business as a result of numerous recalls by competitor companies, more than off-setting the CAPEX cost of the new treatment applications. Seaco has continued to work with USEPA and suppliers to amend pesticide application labels allowing for optimized minimum dosage requirement (MED) when water quality allows, leading to cost savings for the customer. In 2021, application of the Seaco program prior to harvest season has resulted in ~28% cost-savings for the leafy green-producer going forward.