MSU Extension Agrifood Safety

Phil Tocco, MSU Extension Educator

Many fruit and vegetable growers don’t like implementing on-farm produce safety practices. They often think the time spent doesn’t add value to the bottom line of farming. This is not always the case, though. There are a number of areas where good produce safety practices can give you the information you need to actually INCREASE your bottom line and prolong the shelf life of your product.

Traceability

One of the biggest produce safety practices that can transform decision-making on farm is implementing a traceability system on farm. When produce is traced from the field to the buyer, the grower will know what varieties yielded the most, who their best customers are, and sometimes which harvest workers are the most valuable. The data generated from a traceability program can also help a grower tweak timing of sequential planting to optimize yield at times of peak demand or price. That way, less gets wasted. More information as well as a free, open-source traceability software application can be found here.

Packhouse Design

Designing a packhouse with produce safety in mind doesn’t just increase produce safety, it can speed things up…a lot! Having drains in the floors means that they can be cleaned quickly and efficiently. Having concrete floors speeds up the cleaning process and allows you to put wheels on all the equipment you have. This means that if you have to move from one crop to another that requires different equipment, that change can be made quickly without much down time. To find out more about designing a packhouse with produce safety in mind, check out these videos.

Sanitizer Use in Wash Water

Appropriate use of sanitizer in produce washing is a great way to minimize pathogen spread from one piece of produce to another. Along the way, it can also increase shelf-life. Adding sanitizer to produce wash water does NOT sanitize the produce, but it DOES reduce the spoilage organisms on the surfaces of the fruits and vegetables being washed. Sometimes, a small reduction is all you need to have a big impact on shelf-life. 

If a grower would like more information on hidden benefits of produce safety or implementing good produce safety practices in your farm, they are welcome to contact the Michigan State University Extension Agrifood Safety Work Group at gaps@msu.edu or (517) 788-4292.