How can you reduce spoilage and shrinkage when washing fresh fruits and vegetables post-harvest?

This video provides tips on implementing best practices when washing produce including the proper use of sanitizers to maintain sanitary water, and provides guidance on the implementation of a monitoring program during the wash process.


Questions?

Our Local Produce Initiative Team is available for one-on-one consultations with members about food safety issues—from the farm to market. They can provide guidance on potential risks, best practices, writing a food safety plan and even help prepare for a GAP audit.

Drop Chloe (NC) or Kim (SC) an email, or give them a call at (919) 542-2402.

By Sarah Bostick, Farm Services Coordinator | Oct. 8, 2018 –

Improve Post-Harvest Handing to be More Competitive header image

For most of my farming career, I didn’t really think about what happened to my produce once it passed from my hands to those of my customers. I knew that it was beautiful, healthy, and something to be proud of each time I displayed it at a farmers’ market or handed it over in CSA shares. Sometimes I wondered if anyone would try that great recipe for braised fennel that I recommended or if my first delivery of husk cherries was selling at the rate I anticipated at the natural food store. But I wasn’t thinking about how well that produce was holding up once it left my hands: I assumed that it would be eaten within a few days of harvest and that it would continue to look as good the day it was eaten as the day it was picked.

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by Patricia Tripp, CFSA’s Local Produce Safety Manager

 

Dylan Alexander of Alexander Acres, one of the Farmers in Training at Lomax Incubator Farm, washes greens post-harvest.

Dylan Alexander of Alexander Acres, one of the Farmers in Training at Lomax Incubator Farm, washes produce post-harvest.

 

Growers can produce large quantities of fruits and vegetables all day long, but without the proper systems in place you could miss out on the critical window of time when your produce is fresh and high-quality enough for market. Miss the window and product losses could be extensive. Taking every measure to improve product quality through the implementation of a food safety program will help to open up new market opportunities, reduce losses and improve the overall viability of your business.

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by Thomas Moore, CFSA’s NC Food Systems Coordinator

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As the growing season comes to an end it is important for farmers to develop strategies that ensure sales for twelve months a year.  Even though North and South Carolina have long growing seasons, produce farmers who do not use season extending production methods will have a four-month production gap. In order to bridge this production gap and provide product to your customers year-round, proper storage practices are essential. By properly preparing your produce for storage and providing ideal storage conditions, farmers are able to store their products from one to twelve months, depending on the product.

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by James Cooper, CFSA Local Produce Safety Coordinatorwinter squash

Winter squash are not only very nutrient-dense foods (containing high levels of vitamins A and C), but also have a long storage life and can be stored anywhere from one month (for the table queen variety), to six months for types such as Hubbard, thus prolonging the farmer’s season by generating cash-flow into the off-season.

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