Produce Bites Michigan On-Farm Produce Safety

In this episode, Produce Safety Technicians Micah Hutchison and Landen Tetil discuss how to reduce food safety risks when it comes to growing mushrooms. They also talk through regulations that growers should be aware of when processing mushrooms. 

Additional Resources:

Food-Safe Fungi: Produce Safety Resources for Mushroom Growers [https://www.canr.msu.edu/agrifood_safety/Newsletter-Articles/food-safe-fungi]

Video: "Power Washing Only Spreads the Evidence" [https://youtu.be/8FZOwavwsdc?si=RFNzzzggaGPkLCO5]

This episode features Faith Critzer, Associate Professor at the University of Georgia studying fresh produce in the realm of food safety, and Phil Tocco, On-Farm Produce Safety Educator at MSU Extension. They talk about all of the surfaces apples touch from the time they are picked off the tree until they get to the grocery store and how to keep these surfaces clean.

Happy New Year! In this episode, Produce Safety Technicians Morgan Anderson and Allissa Conley talk about produce safety resolutions you can implement in the new year. 

Funding for this podcast was made possible in part by the Food and Drug Administration through grant PAR-16-137. The views expressed in the posted materials do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the Department of Health and Human Services, nor does any mention of trade names, commercial practices or organization imply endorsement by the United States Government.

The FSMA Produce Safety Rule requires that growers take a standardized food safety training recognized as adequate by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Sara Runkel, a Local Produce Safety Coordinator with Carolina Farm Stewardship Association, and Steve Warshawer, Enterprise Development Manager with the La Montañita Food Co-op, are part of a team that is developing an equivalent training program to the Produce Safety Alliance (PSA) Grower Training that is accepted by the FDA. In this episode, Phil Tocco, Produce Safety Educator with Michigan State University Extension, talks with Sara and Steve to learn more about the details of this training, how it will compare to the PSA Training, and the key elements that make a produce safety training effective.



Funding for this podcast was made possible in part by the Food and Drug Administration through grant PAR-16-137. The views expressed in the posted materials do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the Department of Health and Human Services, nor does any mention of trade names, commercial practices or organization imply endorsement by the United States Government.

Produce Safety Technicians Landen Tetil and Micah Hutchison swap produce safety "horror stories" from the field and share solutions to these frightful food safety situations.

Additional Resources:

Hand Sanitizer vs. Hand Soap (Nutella video) [https://youtu.be/Eo8Ws19tdmM]

Contact a Michigan Produce Safety Technician [https://www.miofps.org/contact]



Funding for this podcast was made possible in part by the Food and Drug Administration through grant PAR-16-137. The views expressed in the posted materials do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the Department of Health and Human Services, nor does any mention of trade names, commercial practices or organization imply endorsement by the United States Government.

Converting a washing machine into a greens spinner can be a cost-effective and efficient option for farms to spin their dry leafy greens, but what are the food safety risks that come with it? Amanda Kinchla, Extension Professor of Food Science at the University of Massachusetts, was a part of a research team that studied the microbial contamination risks of washing machine greens spinners and how it compared to commercially available units. In this episode, Micah Hutchison, a Produce Safety Technician, sits down with Amanda to learn more about her research, discuss the findings, and talk through how to effectively clean and sanitize these machines.



Funding for this podcast was made possible in part by the Food and Drug Administration through grant PAR-16-137. The views expressed in the posted materials do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the Department of Health and Human Services, nor does any mention of trade names, commercial practices or organization imply endorsement by the United States Government.