FOOD SAFETY WITH DIEGO
who is diego?
Let’s get to know our Food Safety Coordinator, Diego. Not only can we depend on him for all our Food Safety needs, we depend on his helping hand to complete odds and ends throughout our headquarters.
Diego grew up in Imperial Valley, surrounded by agriculture, where both of his parents worked in the industry. He moved to the Salinas Valley for love and quickly learned how many opportunities agriculture holds, starting with Pacific in 2008. While a big move landed him in the industry, the hands-on work, fresh fields, and team efforts are what keep him here. “I really learned a deep respect for the hard work our harvesting crews do and feel honored to work alongside them to keep us in compliance with food safety regulations,” Diego shared. He started as our Food Safety Administrator, easily transitioned to Food Safety Coordinator, and has now been working for our Food Safety Team for over 11 years.
What does diego do at Pacific?
Day to day, Diego coordinates with our Crop Supervisors to schedule samples and manages our sanitation program for field harvest machines. Samples need to be completed five days before harvest to make sure the vegetables are safe for consuming. He ensures all our ranches have a preharvest inspection completed, preps for our internal and 3rd Party Audits, as well as manages field trainings, tailgate meetings on safety guidelines, and monitors animal activity in the event we need to conduct a low, medium, or high risk assessment should we encounter an issue. As Food Safety Coordinator, Diego oversees our product testing for our leafy greens and celery program, as well as our MRL testing program for export product. When he isn’t doing these tasks on Pacific’s behalf, he is assisting our family of growers with the same things. He “values the technical skills he has received through training and learning from others in the industry that have been doing this for longer than [he] has.”
Why is diego so special to us?
Diego is one of the most committed employees we have. We appreciate his dedication and hard work that is put into our Food Safety Program, but he doesn’t stop there. Diego pours himself into being a Pacific employee and supports everyone around the office – building shelves, fixing printers, setting up work stations, being our Marketing Team’s field model, helping those in our Wellness Center, and so on.
When asked why he still works for Pacific, Diego said, “I value the opportunity to work for a company that feels like family.” The feeling is mutual.
