Produce Safety Update

Welcome to the first Produce Safety Update from the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry!  I am Justin McConaghy, Produce Safety Program Coordinator, and I hope you will find the information that will be published occasionally through this bulletin on produce safety best practices, current research, law updates, and training opportunities as beneficial.  If this information is not relevant to you, please hit the unsubscribe link at the bottom of this e-mail. On the contrary, if you know who could benefit from this information, please forward it on and they can subscribe. If you have any questions, feel free to e-mail justin.mcconaghy@ag.ok.gov.

The Good News For Foods

COVID-19 is not a foodborne illness. It is extremely unlikely that someone will catch it through eating. The virus is most likely to cause illness through respiratory  transmission, not eating. The routes to be concerned about include being in very close proximity to many people or coming in contact with high touch surfaces.

What Should Growers Do About Coronavirus (COVID-19)?

1. Stay Away from Produce if Sick – If someone is sick, they should be nowhere near fruit and vegetables that others are going to eat. This is likely already part of your farm’s food safety plan and policies, but this is a good reminder to emphasize and enforce the policy. Make sure employees stay home if they feel sick and send them home if they develop symptoms at work. Consider posting signs asking customers not to shop at your farm stand if they have symptoms.
2. Practice Social Distancing – By putting a bit more space between you and others you can reduce your chances of getting ill. This might mean limiting or prohibiting farm visitors or reducing the number of off-farm meetings you attend in person. Avoid shaking hands and other physical contact. This also reduces the risk of your produce coming into contact with someone who is ill before it heads to market.
3. Minimize the Number of Touches – Consider changes in your policies and operations that minimize the number of times produce is touched by different people. This may include workers, distributors, and customers. 
4. Wash Your Hands – Reinforce the importance of washing hands well when arriving at work, when changing tasks (e.g. moving from office work to wash/pack), before and after eating, after using the bathroom, before putting on gloves when working with produce, and after contact with animals. Soap + water + 20 seconds or more are needed to scrub all surfaces of your hands and fingers thoroughly. Then, dispose of paper towels in a covered, lined trash container.
5. Cleaning, Sanitizing, and Drying – According to the FDA , there is no indication that this virus has spread via food. But, we know viruses (including SARS-CoV-2) survive and spread via hard surfaces. Farms handle produce using tools and equipment with surfaces. We also know that produce has surfaces. Viruses, in general, can be relatively long-lasting in the environment, and have the potential to be transferred via food or food contact surfaces. So, there’s no better time than the present to review, improve, and reinforce your standard operating procedures for cleaning, sanitizing, disinfecting, and drying any food contact surfaces, food handling equipment, bins, and tools. Remember, cleaning means using soap and water, sanitizing is using a product labeled for sanitizing, disinfecting typically involves higher concentrations of a product labeled for disinfection, and drying means allowing the surfaces to dry completely before use.
6. Plan for Change – Many produce farms are lean operations run by one or two managers and a minimal crew.  Do you have a plan for if you become severely ill? How do things change if half your workforce is out sick?

COVID-19 Best Practices for Farmers Markets

• Contact your county health department to discuss what steps should be taken to limit the spread of this virus at your market.
• Vendors and customers should not come to market if they are displaying symptoms of COVID-19, or have come in contact with someone who is sick. Consider communicating this to customers through signs, social media or newsletters.
• Food sampling should be suspended to minimize touch points.
• Vendors should practice hand hygiene, use gloves when handling money, and handle and package items for customers.
• Limit market volume by promoting pre-ordering, alternate pickup locations, or delivery.

Information for this bulletin is from: University of Vermont Extension North Carolina State University Extension More information can be found at those links.