Western Washington Food Systems Partnership

Food Safety Planning with NABC Q&A

Resources:

Questions & Answers

Q:   I grow more than 80 types of vegetables and herbs for 3-4 different types of markets and I’m curious how strict the “by vegetable type” is for a Food Safety plan? There are a lot of things that are standard (e.g., harvest totes can be on ground but not stacked, bins for washed produce do not touch ground, all harvest knives are sanitized before use and not set on ground) for any usage and not specific to each vegetable.

A:   Think about how to group produce items on your list. Wherever possible, simplify.

The FSP is a tool for you and your staff to communicate expectations. It is not submitted to any oversight agencies. There is no standard way to do a FSP. Each FSP is tailored to the operation.

Q:  What are approved sanitizers that are not bleach, and are affordable, biodegradable, salmon-safe?

A:  Participants offered suggestions for sanitizing surface and produce:

  • Info about sanitizers allowed for food contact surfaces and equipment in organic operations (USDA AMS).
  • USDA Sanitation Manual (USDA AMS, Sept. 2013).
  • Instructions for washing produce using peracetic acid solution (Cornell Cooperative Ext.).
  • A Guide to Cleaning, Sanitizing, and Disinfecting for Produce Farms (UVM Ext., March, 2020)
  • BioSafe SaniDate is completely biodegradable and environmentally safe as long as it is not dumped directly into a body of water. The main components of this product are peracetic acid and hydrogen peroxide. SaniDate holds concentration longer than bleach.
  • BioSafe makes a second product that is meant for direct contact with food itself but it is sold in very high concentrations which requires equipment to be able to make up the diluted solution safely (e.g, masks, sleeves, goggles, eye wash station).
  • Tsunami 100 is a product added to water in produce processing to sanitize and extend shelf life.
  • Dr. Bronner’s is safe for washing produce. Dish soaps like Dawn & Bar Keeper’s Friend are appropriate for food contact surfaces, but not produce as they are not food safe.
  • Producers who are certified organic can check with their organic certifier to find out what is allowed for food contact and surface contact. Products permitted for use on the certified organic Mobile Poultry Processing Unit included Stop-It, Alubrite, Ever-Kleen, Chlor-Cling, Bar Keepers Friend, Simple Green, and  Alka-Max for walls, floors, and general cleaning. Sani-Pac was used in direct contact with the product as an anti-microbial dip, plus for food contact surfaces and boot dip.

Q:  Do you know if anyone has used this FSP template successfully when applying to sell through the Puget Sound Food Hub?

A:    No, this is a brand-new guide for what you can include in an FSP and is not designed to meet a specific organizations’ requirements.

Q:  We had to develop a bio-security plan for our farm where we produce poultry and hydroponic lettuces. Is that included in a food safety plan?

A:    Absolutely. If you have livestock and produce on the same farm, you need to have a FSP in place for managing both. Consider taking a course like those offered by Produce Safety Alliance, Cornell University.

Q:   We had an issue this year with finches perching, and sometimes pooping, on our broccoli heads and tomatoes causing a significant amount of produce to have to be discarded. Seeking eco-friendly ideas to minimize birds perching above produce.

A:   I hear more bird-scarers are ineffective; crops are just too tempting. Dogs would work, but only if fenced out of the immediate growing area for sanitation reasons. However, tomatoes are often grown under plastic-covered hoop houses in this climate; screen doors will prevent invading birds.  For the broccoli, I would use floating row cover (i.e. remay cloth). I’ve used this to good success for my lettuce and brassicas.