California Small Farm Food Safety Guidelines
Summary:
Fruit and vegetable consumption has grown significantly in the past two decades as the health benefits of these crops have been emphasized. Unfortunately, the incidence of food borne illnesses has also increased. In some cases, the financial impact on the growers of the crops associated with these incidents has been devastating. This means that it is important for all growers to be aware of food safety practices that minimize contamination of their crops with human pathogens. The most important disease organisms are Salmonella, E. coli O157:H7, Listeria, Shigella and Bacillus cereus. The primary path- ways for these pathogens to enter the field or packing shed are: contaminated irrigation or processing water, poor field/packing shed worker hygiene, improperly aged or treated organic soil amendments (manure, etc.), domestic or wild animals entering the field, contaminated harvest equipment, inadequate or unsanitary processing and storage conditions and improper transportation.
The following checklist of recommendations should be considered during crop production, harvest, processing and transport.