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“CONGRATULATING DAN GERAWAN AND RICK SCHELLENBERG” mentioning the U.S. Dept of Agriculture was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E438 on March 29, 2000.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
CONGRATULATING DAN GERAWAN AND RICK SCHELLENBERG
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HON. GEORGE RADANOVICH
of california
in the house of representatives
Wednesday, March 29, 2000
Mr. RADANOVICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Dan Gerawan of Gerawan Farming and Rick Schellenberg of Schellenberg Farms for their part in ``reinventing government,'' by helping to develop a new fruit inspection program known as ``Partners in Quality'' (PIQ), in Reedley, California.
``Partners in Quality'' was initiated in California's tree fruit industry in 1998. It is a voluntary program designed to increase the quality of fruit and decrease the amount paid to the United States Department of Agriculture's inspectors. Participants in the program must prove to the USDA that their in-house quality control is good enough to stand on its own, without the need of continuous USDA inspection. Once the packinghouse has proven itself, the USDA periodically audits the packing house instead of inspecting the fruit continuously. Once the packing house volunteers for this program, the USDA imposes stricter tolerances on the participants than on the regular inspection procedures, to ensure a higher quality.
Rick Schellenberg, with the help of Dan Gerawan, spearheaded the implementation of PIQ for the packing industry. The Partners in Quality team includes several USDA and state agricultural department officials, as well as members of the California pear and Florida citrus industry.
Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate Dan Gerawan and Rick Schellenberg for their part in reinventing government. I urge my colleagues to join me in wishing Dan and Rick many more years of continued success.
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