Watch as Farmers Grow
Header

Food Safety Upgrades in 2012

January 24th, 2013 | Posted by miker in Handling - (Comments Off on Food Safety Upgrades in 2012)

Food Safety Upgrades in 2012

Farm Manager MikeR completed a 3 hour NJ Department of Agriculture “Third Party Audit Training” course, organized by NOFA-NJ.  The take home message was;

“Easily Accessible Hand Washing Station with Disposable Hand Towels”

Basically there are alot of bacteria (etc) in the world that can make us sick, and most of them are just a few steps away from anybodys food.  To keep our food safe it is critical that we avoid contamination!  Organic Practices regulate the application and management of potential contaminants in the field and greenhouses.  A common secondary source of contamination comes from workers dirty hands, dirty wash water and unsanitary handling facilities.

In 2012, at North Slope Farm, we invested in a new floor for our washing area, installed by Jason Barger.  Likewise Manager Mike managed to maintain the season with hand soap and disposable towels available at our hand washing station every work day.  Ecologically minded folks often scorn paper towels but they do seem to be a simple, basic method for cleaning up after ourselves.  As a sanitizing cleaner we use Seventh Generation Non-Chlorine Bleach, diluted as directed for household cleaning of stainless steel surfaces.

Click on the Photo below to access a short set of Photos to highlight our 2012 effort to improve our Food Safety situation;
Food Safety 2012

Handling

September 28th, 2010 | Posted by miker in Handling - (Comments Off on Handling)

Washing Intro

The difference between a fresh product and an excellent fresh product is Handling.  The niche that local agriculture can fill is to produce quality products close to the market, THEN handle them professionally and their customers will be back each week!  Here in lies the greatest challenge for small scale operations – washing, cooling, packaging and distribution.  To handle these issues professionally takes investment in infrastructure, expense that only pays off with large scale production.