Food Safety. We play it safe 24/7.

Pandol is not only committed to supplying the finest quality produce to its customers, we are also determined to deliver fruit that is safe, wholesome, and meets or exceeds industry standards. Of course we make sure it meets your requirements too. The Pandol organization has always and continues to make food safety its number one priority.

It is at the heart of everything we do. Every day.

To ensure Pandol is complying with proper food safety practices throughout the entire organization, regular audits are documented internally as well as those conducted by outside, independent, third parties for proof of compliance. In addition, our comprehensive program was carefully designed to meet or exceed the very highest standards including all Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), GlobalGAP, Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) programs, and provide traceability.

GAP (Good Agricultural Practices) are guidelines established by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to minimize microbial food safety hazards for fresh fruits and vegetables.

The key components of GAP guidelines are irrigation water quality, proper handling of agricultural chemicals, sanitation, employee health and hygiene, transportation of products, and trace-back ability. Our employees and supervisors are routinely trained to make sure they understand and follow GAP guidelines.

GlobalGAP is a private sector body that sets voluntary standards for the certification of agricultural products around the globe. Its aim is to establish ONE standard for Good Agricultural Practice with different product applications capable of fitting to the whole of global agriculture.

It is a pre-farm-gate standard, which means that the certificate covers the process of the certified product from farm inputs like feed or seedlings and all the farming activities until the product leaves the farm.

GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices) are FDA guidelines established for the processing and packaging of food products, whose key components are very similar to GAP. Fresh grapes, packed in their simplest forms, are considered to be raw agricultural commodities by the USDA and do not fall under FDA guidelines.

However, Pandol employs GMP to the handling and packaging of fresh grapes in our packing facility to assure safe, wholesome and high quality fruit for our customers and consumers.

HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) is a systematic approach to assessing possible risks associated with a product and determining the controls necessary to minimize or eliminate the risks of causing illness or injury.

Pandol has embraced the HACCP approach as an important part of our food safety program and procedures and has filed the Pandol HACCP program with the appropriate regulatory agencies.

Pandol is a key, enthusiastic participant in establishing Global Traceability through the PMA and United Fresh Produce Association Traceability Initiative. This group is establishing traceability guidelines and standards along with timelines for industry compliance in the Untied States.