“Food Safety Involves Everybody in the Food Chain”

Ultimately we are all consumers; we all want safe food. From seed to sale the produce is tracked and monitored to ensure quality. Every one of our growers is required to pass extremely strict food safety standards and exhaustive regulatory inspections including GAP, GMP and HACCP certifications.

About Food Safety

Food safety is a scientific discipline describing handling, preparation, and storage of food in ways that prevent foodborne illness. The two points of focus are on safety between industry and the market and then between the market and the consumer.

Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) as defined by the USDA are guidelines & regulations established to ensure that field operations account for potential food safety issues. These guidelines address the food safety topics of site selection, adjacent land use, fertilizer usage, water sourcing and usage, pest control and pesticide monitoring, harvesting practices (including worker hygiene, packaging storage, field sanitation and product transportation) and food defense.

Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) as defined by the USDA are guidelines & regulations that are designed to ensure that packing and processing operations account for food safety issues including pest control, traceability, sanitation, food defense, maintenance, foreign material control and HACCP.

Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP), as defined by the USDA, is a systematic approach to identifying and controlling hazards (microbiological, chemical or physical) that pose a danger to the preparation of safe food. HACCP seeks to control the safety of ingredients and supplies coming into a food business and what is done with them thereafter.

What You Need to Know

Fresh fruit is an important part of a healthy diet and most local markets offer a wide variety of fresh produce. The U.S. food supply is one of the safest in the world. However, fresh produce may become contaminated by soil or water where it grows or after it is harvested during preparation or storage. By following simple safe handling tips you help protect yourself and your family. For detailed information regarding these steps please visit the FDA website on Food Safety.