Western Growers and the Salinas, Calif.-based Taylor Farms announced they have each given $1 million to the Center for Food Safety to support its work to find science-based solutions to produce safety threats.

The two are the first diamond-level supporters of a capital fundraising campaign the center unveiled in late January, according to Western Growers. The center has now raised over $5 million toward its $15 million goal to finance produce-specific food safety research, and to transfer research learnings to industry, government and other stakeholders, over the next five years.

“We are in an era of greater transparency, and the high expectations that come with transparency about how this industry operates and the standards that it adheres to,” said WG President and CEO Dave Puglia in a CPS press release.

Along with labor and water, “food safety has joined a triumvirate of challenging issues that need our full attention," Puglia said.

Western Growers also contributed $1 million to CPS in 2015 during CPS’s previous campaign. For more information about the 2020 campaign and to see the full list of donors, visit the CPS Campaign for Research website here.