Produce Bites

In this special episode of Produce Bites, we’re excited to share an insightful conversation originally recorded on The Food Safety Dish podcast, brought to you by the National Farmers Union’s Local Food Safety Collaborative. In this episode, Kathryn Cavenaugh interviews Phil Tocco as they explore the new FSMA Produce Safety Rule on pre-harvest agricultural water, along with tips for assessing your own ag water for potential hazards and risks. A big thanks to Kathryn and the National Farmers Union for allowing us to cross-post this valuable episode.

Additional Resources:

Risk Prioritization Tool

In this episode, we're joined by Produce Safety Technicians Landen Tetil and Micah Hutchison to explore the concept of the "produce safety ladder." They discuss small but significant decisions you can make to climb this ladder and improve produce safety on your farm. 

In this episode of Produce Bites, we explore the role of composting on the farm and the food safety considerations every grower should know. This episode features Morgan Anderson, Produce Safety Technician with the Ottawa Conservation District, and Eliza Hensel, Compost Systems Educator with Michigan State University Extension. They discuss their composting processes, the importance of validation and recordkeeping, best practices for handling and storing compost, and more.

Additional Resources: 

On-farm compost production and Right to Farm - Eliza Hensel

Tips for composting in the summertime - Eliza Hensel

Master Composter Online Course

Michigan On-Farm Produce Safety

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In this episode, Produce Safety Technicians Landen Tetil and Patrick Gordon talk about establishing a clean break. They discuss what is and isn't a clean break, why a clean break is important for food safety, and what it has to do with traceability. 

The FSMA Produce Safety Rule does not give specifics on establishing no-harvest buffer zones, and it can be difficult for growers to determine the size of a no-harvest buffer zone when they find poop in the field. Laurel Dunn, assistant professor and food safety extension specialist at the University of Georgia, and Shirley Micallef, professor in the Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture & Center for Food Safety and Security Systems at the University of Maryland, have conducted research on the dispersal of contamination due to rain splash on feces in produce fields. In this episode, Phil Tocco, extension educator for on-farm produce safety at Michigan State University Extension, talks with Laurel and Shirley to find out what they learned from their research, and what growers can take away from their findings. 

Additional Resources

Full research article: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2024.1370495/full 

Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement (LGMA)

In this episode, Produce Safety Technicians Micah Hutchison and Landen Tetil discuss how to reduce food safety risks when it comes to growing mushrooms. They also talk through regulations that growers should be aware of when processing mushrooms. 

Additional Resources:

Food-Safe Fungi: Produce Safety Resources for Mushroom Growers

Video: "Power Washing Only Spreads the Evidence"

This episode features Faith Critzer, Associate Professor at the University of Georgia studying fresh produce in the realm of food safety, and Phil Tocco, On-Farm Produce Safety Educator at MSU Extension. They talk about all of the surfaces apples touch from the time they are picked off the tree until they get to the grocery store and how to keep these surfaces clean.

Happy New Year! In this episode, Produce Safety Technicians Morgan Anderson and Allissa Conley talk about produce safety resolutions you can implement in the new year. 

Funding for this podcast was made possible in part by the Food and Drug Administration through grant PAR-16-137. The views expressed in the posted materials do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the Department of Health and Human Services, nor does any mention of trade names, commercial practices or organization imply endorsement by the United States Government.