The Food Safety Dish (Local Food Safety Collaborative)

University of Vermont Extension Associate Professor of Agricultural Engineering and Director of the Northeast Center to Advance Food Safety (NECAFS) Chris Callahan clarifies common questions and misconceptions around cleaning, sanitizing, disinfecting, and shares some simple methods to incorporate hygienic design practices into your operation to streamline your food safety management.

LINKS:

• UVM Ag Engineering Site. http://go.uvm.edu/ageng

• SCRUB Project Page. http://go.uvm.edu/scrub

• A Guide to Cleaning, Sanitizing, and Disinfecting. http://go.uvm.edu/clean-sanitize-disinfect

• Cleaning Tools & Supplies for Produce Farms. https://go.uvm.edu/cleaningtools

• Cleaning Tools for Produce Farms - Video Series. https://go.uvm.edu/cleaningtoolsvideo

• Detergents for Farm Food Contact Surfaces. https://go.uvm.edu/detergents

• Hygienic Design for Produce Farms. http://go.uvm.edu/hygienicdesign

Have you pondered ponics systems? Sean Fogarty is a Research Specialist at the Northeast Center to Advance Food Safety focused on-farm produce safety in the Northeast, and hydroponic and aquaponic food safety nationwide. We talked all about aquaponics & hydroponics, risks to consider, and how interested growers can venture into ponics operations of their own.

Some post-show notes from Sean:

• When recirculating a nutrient solution, water treatment of some form will be required to maintain optimal water quality (chemically, physically, and biologically). At the most basic this includes physical filtration to remove particulates from the recirculating flow.

• Accumulation of organic matter (OM) in the nutrient solution is something to avoid, whereas in soil-based farming you want to increase OM. There are a few ways to measure the OM accumulation, the simplest of which is turbidity. People also use ORP (oxygen reduction potential) as an indicator of nutrient solution quality.

• Even for exempt farms and produce, it is a good idea to prevent contact between the recirculating water and the edible portions of the produce. This reduces the chance of a single contamination event spreading to the rest of the system.

Resources:

• Factsheets - Produce Safety in Hydroponic and Aquaponic Operations https://go.uvm.edu/ponics

  • Cleaning and Sanitizing

  • Fish Health and Handling

  • Harvest and Postharvest Handling

  • Personal Health and Hygiene

  • Wildlife and Domesticated Animals

• Hydroponic Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) Course - Ohio State University ($150 fee)

  • Qualifies as “GAPs training” for USDA GAP/GHP Audit or as “Worker Education and Training” for GAPs Harmonized Food Safety Standard USDA Checklist and Harmonized GAP+ Audit

• CEA Food Safety Coalition

  • Industry group that developed supplemental guidance for CEA operations undergoing or preparing for Global Food Safety Initiative or equivalent audits

  • CEA Food Safety Certified label and certification information

With the recent 2024 final rollout of FSMA's Produce Safety Rule on Pre-Harvest Agricultural Water (Subpart E), there's been a lot of chatter and some confusion about what growers need to do to comply. We got the dish from Michigan State University extension educator and on-farm food safety statewide coordinator Phil Tocco. Hear what Phil has to say about water hazards, risks, and assessing your own ag water as he distills technical regulatory language into an accessible pool of knowledge that empowers growers.

Risk Prioritization Tool for Agricultural Water

In an exciting bonus episode, we share a roundtable discussion with some of our esteemed season one guests on the topic "Creating Cultures of Food Safety." Anita Adalja, Lorig Hawkins, and Nathan Stacey all sat down with us to share their visions for good food safety farm cultures, and leave us with some maps on how we might arrive there.

Check out our guests' websites:

Not Our Farm

Middle Ground Farm

Tilth Alliance

Do you have a great idea for an episode, or a topic you want to learn more about? Email us at kkavanagh@nfudc.org to share your thoughts!

In this exciting, jam-packed episode, we talk with National Farmers Union's Government Relations team members Mike Stranz and Aaron Shier, as well all-star urban growers Akello Karamoko and Romondo Woods II from Detroit, Michigan. We discuss how NFU's grassroots advocacy works, and hear from Akello and Romondo's experience bringing issues from the farm all the way up to their representatives on Capitol Hill. Tune in to hear how you too can become an advocate for your farm community, at home and beyond!

Get involved with NFU!

Keep Growing Detroit

Urban Youth Agriculture (UYA) Detroit

We got the dish on seaweed from marine aquaculture specialist Anoushka Concepcion, an associate extension educator at UConn Avery Point's SeaGrant program and leader of the National Seaweed Hub, which collaboratively addresses the emerging needs of the national seaweed aquaculture industry. We take a deep dive into seaweed aquaculture: what it consists of, new market opportunities and challenges, and of course, how food safety ties into it all.

Resources:

• The National Seaweed Hub
• The Connecticut Sea Grant Seaweed Cultivation Page:
  • Business Planning for Kelp Farming
  • CT Seaweed Food Safety Hazards Guide
  • Understanding Culinary Markets for Seaweed in Southern New England Report
  • Collection of Seaweed recipes

The food safety team sat down with Donna Clements, Produce Safety Alliance Coordinator and Northeast Regional Extension Associate. We discuss what sanitizers are, how to choose and use them wisely, and about plenty of tools and resources to guide you in your practice.

Resources

• Produce Safety Alliance: https://cals.cornell.edu/produce-safety-alliance
• Introduction to Selecting an EPA-Labeled Sanitizer: https://resources.producesafetyalliance.cornell.edu/documents/Sanitizer-Factsheet.pdf
• UVM Sanitizer Dose Calculator: https://ageng.w3.uvm.edu/sanitizer/index.html
• UVM Safely Dispensing Sanitizers: https://blog.uvm.edu/cwcallah/2020/12/15/safely-dispensing-sanitizers/
• National GAPs program Decision Tree on Postharvest Water Use (includes SOP template): https://cals.cornell.edu/national-good-agricultural-practices-program/resources/educational-materials/decision-trees/postharvest-water
• Food Safety Considerations for Postharvest Washing of Produce and Sanitation of Packing Areas: https://www.foodsafetyclearinghouse.org/sites/default/files/files/fs353e.pdf
• PSA Sanitizer tool (opens as an Excel sheet): https://resources.producesafetyalliance.cornell.edu/documents/PSA-Labeled-Sanitizers-for-Produce.xlsx

Wisconsin Farmers Union members Danielle Endvick, LaDonna Green, and Kriss Marion share their individual farm stories, discuss why storytelling matters more than ever, and how to share yours with audiences hungry for both good food and good stories big or small.

University of Minnesota Extension educator Annalisa Hultberg and Laura Frerichs of Loon Farm, a diversified 40-acre organic farm in Hutchinson, Minnesota, shine a light on food safety risks commonly hidden in plain sight and simple ways to effectively reduce those risks.

Find out who and what are covered, not covered, and qualified exempt under the Food Safety Modernization Act's Produce Safety Rule.

In recent years, wildfire disasters in the United States have prompted many growers to ask questions about how to navigate post-wildfire food safety concerns with their crops and livestock. We talk with wildfire resilience expert Amber Schat-Kenig, shepherd & butcher Dylan Boeken, and Community Alliance with Family Farmers' (CAFF) Farmer Support Services Director Kali Feiereisel on the collaborative resource from CAFF and NFU of the same name, "What to Know About Wildfire & Food Safety." The resource aims to provide guidance about common concerns, how to assess potential impacts, and what remediation and mitigation options are available. This podcast episode digs a bit deeper and elaborates on the science and recommendations of the resource.

Resources:

What to Know About Wildfire & Food Safety Resource

CAFF Wildfire Preparation & Resilience

CAFF Emergency Support

Boek House Hearth & Husbandry

Past, future, and present visions of ancient grains all intersect in Southern Oregon's Rogue Valley Heritage Grain Project--farmer Chris Hardy's pursuit of ancient, nutrient dense grains and legumes that will thrive in the increasingly arid bio-region of lower Cascadia. Starting with a spoonful of seeds, to embarking on a worldwide search for rare and resilient heritage cultivars, back to the inner-mountain valleys of Oregon, RVHGP has amassed one of the largest "Living Seed Banks" in the western United States. Hear from farmers Chris Hardy and Steve Fry, owner of one of the Rogue Valley's largest diversified organic farms, as they recount the origins of this project, how they've adopted dry farming practices, why good grain is a food safety & public health matter, and much more!

Learn more about the Rogue Valley Heritage Grain Project!

We're going "bac" to bacteria basics with Produce Safety Alliance Director Betsy Bihn, dishing on microbes, hazards vs risks, pathogen transmission, and why integrating food safety into your farm management is always a good idea.

On this exciting season 2 finale, we explore the world of cooperatives and the co-operative advantage with the longstanding and pioneering Ashland Food Co-op in Ashland, Oregon. With produce manager Joe Reyes and cooperative expert Annie Hoy, we talk AFC's origin story and evolution, how they developed into the northwest's first Certified Organic Retailer, the many parallels between food safety and certified organic standards, and so much more!

Seven Cooperative Principles

Ashland Food Coop

Co-Op Development Resources:

Northwest Cooperative Development Center

California Co-op Development Center

National Co-op Business Association/CLUSA

Food Co-Op Initiative

University of Wisconsin Center for Cooperatives

Longtime food safety expert and consultant Dr. Jennifer McEntire joins us to talk recordkeeping, the FDA Traceability rule, and how to best incorporate a good traceability system on your farm.

Resources:

FDA Traceability Rule

Food Traceability List

Produce Traceability Initiative

GS1 US FSMA 204 Readiness Checklist

GS1 Guide to How Standards Fit Into the Rule

Jennifer's Consultancy: Food Safety Strategy | FSMA

Compost... one of the great wonders of the world! We got the dish from Seattleites Nathan Stacey, Farm Programs Director at Tilth Alliance and Liv Johansson, Compost Facility Operator at the Woodland Park Zoo & Vice President of the Washington Organics Recycling Council (WORC.) We talked soil science, the basics of compost, the coveted "Zoo Doo" compost program at Woodland Park Zoo, and how compost's myriad of uses bring bounty and stability to not only farms, but also help the earth as we know it spin round!

Resources:

Washington State University Compost Mix Calculator

Tilth Alliance Resources

WORC Resources

Soils for Salmon

Anita Adalja, founder of Not Our Farm, sat down with the food safety team to discuss how community care and considerations for farmworkers--the heart of farm operations--lead to healthy work environments, healthy food, happy people, and beyond!

Resources

Not Our Farm Website

Not Our Farm Zine: A Guide to Working on Farms

Fair Share CSA Coalition

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Kicking off Season 2 of the Food Safety Dish is a compelling conversation on produce recalls, crisis management strategies, and how to navigate a recall should it strike. We got the dish from experts Gretchen Wall, former Director of Food Safety & Quality at the International Fresh Produce Association (IFPA), PR communications expert Amy Philpott, and Margaret Dominguez, VP of Food Safety & Compliance at Soli Organics. All have experience navigating recalls and helping farms get back on track after the dreaded event, sharing their best advice so you can avoid this outcome. Plus, Gretchen calls Billy with a "trial" recall scenario -- there's an abundance of good information in this episode, so dig in!

Resources:

International Fresh Produce Association (IFPA)

IFPA Crisis Management 101

IFPA Recall Ready Workshop

FDA ORA Recall Coordinators

FSPCA Recall Plan Template

Philpott PR Solutions

Yes, we CAN utilize Current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMPs)! Hear from inspired producer, baker, and entrepreneur Shamilla Roberts and Carolina Farm Stewardship Association's Food Systems Specialist Keisha Rainey on how CFSA's cGMP online module program has helped Shamilla grow her food business. We discuss how the module is a great foundation for building thriving, food-safe businesses, preserving peak harvests, and how more accessible community preserved foods can help us realize a better food future.

Carolina Farm Stewardship Association

CFSA Events & Trainings

Green Raven Organics

If you are interested in CFSA's CGMP online modules, please contact Keisha at keisha@carolinafarmstewards.org

Farmer Lorig Hawkins takes us through their food safety journey and how they formed a dynamic food safety plan at Middle Ground Farm in Central Texas.

Fellow local food safety collaborators, Kentucky Horticulture Council's Dakota Moore and Dani D'Antonio, dive in to the world of water testing--various sources, how to test your water, and best practices to ensure your water is continually safe with minimal risk.

Kentucky Horticulture Council Resources:

Ag Water Sampling & Testing Resources: https://kyhortcouncil.org/ag-water-sampling-testing/

Ag Water Testing How-To Videos: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVyJ0VH6aG-zE3Nq6HOCC0b-XuMFMFo7Q

NECAFS Water Testing: https://go.uvm.edu/waterlabmap

Hear all about the buzz from apiary operations at two different ends of the country: urban bee keepers Timothy Paule and Nicole Lindsey of Detroit Hives in Michigan, and from Tara Chapman of Two Hives Honey in Austin, Texas. They share how pollinators fit into and enhance the fabric of an urban landscape, how they navigate consumer expectations on honey, and how food safety and security are tied to our small but mighty pollinators. Bees Please!

Detroit Hives

Two Hives Honey