Growing Green

By Robin Trott, Extension Educator

Increasingly, food borne illness outbreaks are being traced to lettuce, tomatoes, cantaloupe and other raw fruits and vegetables. Microorganisms are a natural part of the environment and most are beneficial or neutral for human and plant health. But pathogenic bacteria, viruses and parasites found in the feces of humans and animals like E.coli, Salmonella and Listeria and can spread to fresh produce that will be eaten raw and cause serious illness if ingested. It only takes 10 cells of E.coli 1057:H7 for example to make many people seriously ill.

Fecal contamination on produce can be a problem whether you choose to use organic or conventional gardening methods. Contaminated water, tools, animals and manure-contaminated soil may spread harmful organisms in your garden. The good thing is that basic food safety practices like hand washing and cleaning equipment goes a long way in preventing food borne illness from your garden produce. Follow these food safety practices to keep your harvest, family and friends safe this fall. 

Before and During harvest

• Wash your hands before you harvest, every time, using soap and water. The water does not need to be hot. 

• Hand sanitizer is not a replacement for hand washing. Make sure there is a hand washing stand at the garden. 

• Harvest into clean containers, like totes dedicated to harvest, that are free from visible soil. 

• Don’t use an old bag or other non-food-grade packaging.

• Don’t use a container that had treated seeds, chemicals or other materials that could leach into the plastic.

• Don’t harvest when you are sick. If you have symptoms of illness like nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, or those associated with COVID-19, do not harvest or touch produce for others.  

• Look for signs of animals like scat, fur and nibbled produce, and do not harvest the produce that is close to these signs, or that has visible animal feces on it. Remember, you cannot fully wash off contamination, so don’t harvest anything that might be contaminated.

After harvest

Storage temperature

• Keep produce cool during storage and transport.

• Different produce should be kept at different temperatures.

Washing

• Not all produce needs to be washed when harvested.

• The washing process can actually reduce the storage life of some products. Water can spread contamination if it is present on the outside of the product, or from sinks or buckets used for washing.

• Make sure the water you are using for washing is potable. 

• Consumers should always wash fresh produce before eating, regardless of whether it’s already been washed in the garden/farm.

• Do not wash: Berries, herbs, storage onions, tomatoes and some other storage crops are generally not washed until consumption.

• Wash with care: Some products like greens, melons, cucumbers, zucchini, peppers, eggplant, green beans might also not need to be washed outside, depending on how they were grown, recent rainfall, etc. 

• Generally wash: Most root vegetables will need to be washed before going into the kitchen to remove sand and soil. 

• Use a clean washing tank or container, clean water and clean hands when washing.

• Use a clean bucket or spray table outside to spray or dunk the produce to remove soil.

• Avoid bringing the produce into your home kitchen before using, as there is more potential for cross-contamination.

If you are lucky enough to have a surplus of produce this fall, you might think about donating it to a food shelf, church or other hunger-relief organization. We have no way to know who will eat the food we donate, that’s why it’s important to take safety precautions when donating produce.

Packaging

• Whatever you will be putting your fruits and vegetables in to transport them, make sure that it will not contaminate your produce.

• Use new, single-use or clean boxes or bags whenever possible. Store them indoors in a secure location away from pests and other contaminants. 

• If you reuse boxes, make sure they are in good shape, or consider using a plastic liner to reduce the potential for contamination. 

Transport

• Transport the produce in a clean vehicle that does not have garbage, chemicals or pet hair in it that could be a source of contamination. 

• Temperature is very important for product quality and food safety. Keep the produce as cool as possible from your farm to the final destination.

For more information about food safety, canning and storing garden grown produce, visit the On-Farm Food Safety Program’s website here https://extension.umn.edu/safety/growing-safe-food

Until next time, happy gardening!

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“This cabbage, these carrots, these potatoes, these onions … will soon become me.  Such a tasty fact!” ~Mike Garofalo