Four Seasons Produce Business Partners November 27, 2018

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1 400 Wabash Road P.O. Box 788 Ephrata, PA Tel: Four Seasons Produce Business Partners November 27, 2018 RE: *UPDATE* to the Romaine Lettuce Advisory Announcements from the CDC and FDA On Monday evening, November 26, 2018, the CDC and FDA published updates to their notices regarding romaine lettuce and romaine lettuce products. Based on new information, the CDC and FDA are narrowing their warning to consumers. They are advising consumers not to eat, and retailers and restaurants not to serve or sell any romaine or romaine lettuce products harvested from the Central Coastal growing regions of northern and central California. The CDC and FDA are removing the consumer advisory for romaine grown outside of the Central Coastal California growing regions. Officials have no information to suggest winter romaine growing regions have anything to do with the outbreak since harvesting started there after the outbreak began. Those winter growing regions include Yuma, Arizona; Florida; Mexico; and the desert growing regions of Imperial County and Riverside County, California. The advisory also no longer includes greenhouse or hydroponic farms that grow romaine or baby romaine lettuce. A clear recommendation that the CDC and FDA noted in their November 26 update was that retailers and restaurants should not serve romaine or romaine products unless the origin and the harvest date are clearly marked on the packages of romaine products or on the cases of bulk romaine lettuce. Four Seasons Produce will resume shipping of romaine lettuce, romaine hearts and packaged salads that contain romaine lettuce or baby romaine when the bulk cases or consumer packs are labeled with origin and harvest date according to these FDA and CDC recommendations. We expect to start shipping Florida grown organic romaine, as well as Yuma, AZ grown conventional and organic romaine lettuce and romaine hearts as early as November 28. The supply chain needs to refill for packaged salads made with Romaine, so we expect to start shipping those on December 3. Attached are updated vendor letters we ve collected so far. Food safety matters to all of us. We value our partnership, and if you need more information or have questions regarding this topic, please contact us. Sincerely, Jonathan Steffy General Manager Four Seasons Produce, Inc jonathan@fsproduce.com

2 November 26, 2018 Dear Valued Customer: On Tuesday, November 20, Dole Fresh Vegetables voluntarily ceased all harvesting, production and shipping of romaine and any products containing romaine. On Tuesday, November 27, under the revised advisory of FDA, Dole will resume harvesting activities in and only in the growing areas falling outside the outbreak investigation parameters set by FDA. Dole has pledged to only ship romaine harvested from areas outside of the Central Coast growing regions of northern and central California, and will clearly and prominently label all individually packaged romaine products as to the growing region and harvest date. Further we will ask our retail partners to also clearly and prominently label with the growing regions and harvest date any individually unwrapped whole heads of romaine lettuce available in retail stores. Dole is committed to providing safe, healthy and quality foods to our customers. As such, we have been and will continue to closely monitor this situation and will share any new information as it becomes available. Should you have any questions please reach out to your local Dole Fresh Vegetables Sales representative. Sincerely, Tim Stejskal General Manager/Senior Vice President-Sales Dole Fresh Vegetables, Inc Dole Fresh Vegetables 2959 Salinas Hwy Monterey, CA (831) Dole.com

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4 November 26, 2018 Dear valued organicgirl customer: Today, FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb announced on Fox News that the FDA will lift the romaine advisory for certain growing areas. While the FDA is working on a formal announcement, multiple industry organizations have informed us that romaine items grown in the winter growing areas, including Arizona and Imperial CA, and harvested after November 23 rd are cleared. To date we have not been contacted, nor are we involved in any way with this issue. Currently organicgirl is using only romaine from the winter growing regions and harvested after November 23 rd. This includes romaine for all of the below organicgirl products: 50/50 blend baby spring mix I heart baby kale True Hearts romaine leaves The FDA has also recommended, and the industry supports, that producers voluntarily stamp their product with the region sourced from and identify if the included romaine was harvested after 11/23. While we have looked at other options for getting product back on shelf, the course we will now take is to comply with this recommendation for the products listed above, so we will have this stamp starting with tonight s production: We therefore are pleased to resume shipping these items beginning Tuesday. Based on the information we have received from multiple sources the steps we have outlined comply with the pending FDA guidance. Thank you for your cooperation and patience, and please contact us if you have any questions. Sincerely, John McPherson Director, Customer Service

5 November 26, 2018 Dear Valued Customer: Fresh Express is pleased to provide an update regarding plans to resume nationwide production and shipment of romaine lettuce products, as detailed below. The Fresh Express leadership team, along with several other processing companies and industry groups such as PMA and United Fresh, reached agreement with the FDA to label romaine lettuce-containing products with growing region and harvest date information. This agreement has paved the way for a resumption in shipments. As you probably have heard by now, FDA has updated its November 20 th public advisory in which consumers were warned against the consumption of all romaine lettuce, now stating that romaine lettuce that was harvested outside of the Central Coast growing regions of northern and central California does not appear to be related to the current outbreak. Fresh Express sources our romaine from growing regions that are now excluded from the FDA advisory, such as Yuma, Imperial Valley, Florida, Central Mexico and Northern Mexico. Fresh Express looks forward to coordinating closely with you as resumed production and shipping plans get underway. Specifically, new labeling will appear all retail and foodservice packages: All Fresh Express bags, clamshells and sleeves (e.g., 3-Pack Hearts of Romaine) will be labeled with the growing region (source or sources) and the harvest after date (harvested after [date]). Growing regions: Yuma, Imperial Valley, Florida, Central Mexico and Northern Mexico Label location will be in proximity to the Best-If-Used-By Date For example: Romaine Grown in Yuma and Harvested after 11/23/2018 Romaine Grown in Yuma and / or Imperial Valley. Harvested after 11/24/2018 Note: Some abbreviation may be required when multiple regions are listed. (More) 1 P age

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7 November 27, 2018 Update 6 Dear Andrea: We will begin our first production with approved romaine tomorrow, Wednesday, Nov. 28, Please work with your Bonduelle Fresh Americas Sales Associate to ensure that your orders are in our system so we can plan accordingly. As per the FDA announcement released last night, we are including labeling on where the romaine is grown and harvested after date. Please see examples of the new labeling which will appear on all product packaging containing romaine lettuce. Additionally, we will be applying a pallet tag which will include the same growing region and harvested after date on the packaging. Please contact me via cell at , if you have any questions or suggestions. Thank you for your continued partnership and we look forward to providing you the high-quality, safe, delicious products you ve come to expect from Bonduelle Fresh Americas. Jay Ellis Chief Commercial Officer Bonduelle Fresh Americas

8 Bowl Label Pallet Slip/Tag 8.5x11 Bagged Salad Label Clamshell Label

9 Monday, November 26, 2018 To Our Valued Customers, We want to share an important update regarding the latest broad scale public health notice regarding E. coli O157:H7 and romaine lettuce. Today, the FDA and CDC released an update, which can be found here, lifting the consumer advisory against consumption of romaine lettuce. Taylor Farms is resuming romaine harvest in growing regions which have not been implicated as a supply source and will start processing romaine products again. This decision is based on a new, voluntary industry labeling agreement requiring additional information on labels. Effective immediately, Taylor Farms romaine lettuce products will feature detailed label information in regards to growing region and approximate harvest date. The labeling will be provided as follows: For packaged consumer food (including whole romaine heads sold in bags or sleeves), the declaration will be printed adjacent to the best by/code date on the package label or on a sticker placed in a prominent area. It will be at least the same size as the lot code. For foodservice products, the declaration will be made in a consistent manner to how the best by/code date information currently is provided for the product. For unpackaged products, this information will be provided to retailers so that they can display it at the point-of-sale (similar to their practice for country of origin labeling). We recognize the importance of providing such details and will work collaboratively with the industry and FDA to educate consumers about this new labeling. Our goal is to disclose details that help the FDA tailor public advisories to only include ingredients that are grown in affected regions and harvested between specific dates. We will continue to closely monitor this evolving situation and will keep you apprised of any new developments. Thank you for your continued partnership. (Continue to page 2 for additional labeling example)

10 Here is an exampe of additional labeling that can be found on Taylor Farms products that contain romaine:

11 November 27, 2018 To: All our Misionero Customers Re: Update to CDC and FDA Romaine Alert The FDA and CDC have lifted their alert on the production and consumption of romaine products for romaine grown and harvested in the Yuma, AZ and Imperial Valley, CA growing regions. Details of this action can be found at: As part of this restriction removal, the agencies have recommended the labeling of romaine products with both growing region and harvest date. In compliance to this recommendation, Misionero will be placing this updated statement on its romaine products. This statement will be on both the case label and retail consumer packages. At this time, Canada s CFIA has not updated what it will require for products shipped to Canada. Until the CFIA has released it expectations, we will be using the format above for our Canadian customers with the appropriate French translation. Statement Example US Example Canada Romaine Grown in Yuma, AZ Region Harvested after MM/DD/YY We will continue to work closely with our industry associations, CDC and the FDA to be on the lead of any news or changes that will impact our relationship with our supply chain and consumers. Robert S. Mills Director of Food Safety/Technical Services Misionero Monterey 9777 Blue Larkspur Ln. Ste. 102, Monterey, CA F Misionero Gonzales Gloria Road, Gonzales, CA F Misionero Yuma 3661 E. 24th Street, Yuma, AZ F

12 Date: Friday November 29, 2018 To: Our Valued Customers From: State Garden Re: Supply Update The Romaine issue from last week has caused a major disruption to the supply and retail side of our business. Many acres of Romaine were disked under as product could not be shipped. This has resulted in a huge demand for other tender leaf lettuces; BB Spinach, BB Arugula, BB Kale, and other BB Lettuces. Now, all customers are trying to restock all items as the ban on Romaine has been lifted and the demand has increased even higher. Unfortunately, this all comes at a time when the weather has not, and continues, to not cooperate in all growing areas. TEXAS Rains in Texas during November caused planting gaps as growers could not get into the fields. After that, there was a freeze in both Texas and Mexico which has delayed harvests of all items by 2-3 weeks. These issues have caused severe harvest gaps to both Savoy Spinach, Teen Flat Leaf Spinach, and all tender leaf items both organic and conventional IMPERIAL VALLEY CA. & YUMA AZ This is the only area for both conventional and organic tender leaf lettuce. Temperatures have been well below normal for the past 10 days and forecasts show they will continue below normal. This has caused the product to stop growing and whatever product is there, is much too small to harvest. We are working with our growers to load product as quickly as possible. Demand greatly exceeds supply at this time. All items will be prorated as needed 300 Third Street Chelsea Ma

13 Date: November 29, 2018 To: Our Valued Customers From: State Garden Re: Romaine Re-Introduction The FDA has cleared Romaine sales for product grown in non-affected regions. The guidelines are as follows; the Romaine must be harvested on or after November 23, 2018 from areas outside of Central and Northern California. Permitted areas include the Imperial Valley CA and other desert growing regions of CA, Yuma AZ, and Florida. Packages that contain Romaine Lettuce will now include a harvest date statement and the growing region. Retailers are encouraged to post signage to assure customers that the lettuce was sourced from areas outside the affected areas. State Garden will begin packing Romaine Lettuce in blends on Monday, December 3. The labeling guidelines are shown above. The harvested after part of the statement will change as necessary. Romaine Lettuce is a key component for many tender leaf blends. Without it, supply and availability of many items will be significantly reduced. Thanks for your support 300 Third Street Chelsea Ma