Organic practices help reduce
Chemicals residue, We are doing Much more for food Safety:
Week #4 Harvest
Starting Our New Year 2019, not New Year resolutions, But a list of what we do for “Food Safety”
Each week for the next 7 weeks we shall address
how Country Taste Farm address “Food Safety”
1. Soil Health
2. Plant Health
3. Employee Training
4. Harvest
5. Produce Sanitation
6. Packaging
7. Delivery to end user
Week #4 Harvest
We harvest Fruits and Vegetables Daily, our goal is to provide the very best fresh produce possible. Most of
our produce is harvested, washed, packaged and cooled the day before you
receive it. Cooling is a very important part of our freshness. Fresh produce starts to deteriorate immediately following
harvest. Respiration due to enzymatic oxidation in the growing produce
continues after harvest. This process results in the consumption of sugars,
starches and moisture without replenishment by the plant. Carbon dioxide and other gases along with heat are
generated in the process. If the heat is not removed, the process is
accelerated. Growth of molds and the loss of moisture from the produce are also
accelerated by heat.
Fresh fruits and vegetables
are living tissues, although they are no longer attached to the plant. They
breathe, just as humans do, and their composition and physiology continue to
change after harvest. They continue to ripen and, finally, they begin to die.
Cellular breakdown and death (senescence) are inevitable, but can be slowed
with optimal storage conditions. Fresh fruits and vegetables need low
temperatures (32 to 55°F) and high relative humidities (80 to 95 percent) to
lower respiration and to slow metabolic and transpiration rates. By slowing
these processes, water loss is reduced and food value, quality and energy
reserves are maintained. it is impossible to make a single recommendation for
cool storage of all fruits and vegetables. Climate of the area where the crop
originated, the plant part, the season of harvest and crop maturity at harvest
are important factors in determining the optimum temperature. A general rule
for vegetables is that cool-season crops should be stored at cooler
temperatures (32 to 35°F), and warm-season crops should be stored at warmer
temperatures (45 to 55°F).
Country Taste Farm has 3 Coolers that are set at different Temperatures and we have
charts located on the inside door listing what fruit or vegetable should be
placed in that cooler. The use of vented or non vented bags helps to control Humidity.
We harvest some crops such as potatoes, Onions, winter squash when they are
mature and store longer because they handle long periods of storage.
We have several Machines to
wash dirt off our Produce: Root Crop Barrel Washer, Water Bath with greens
machine spin dry, and new added in 2019 A four piece wash line
including the in-feed, washer, absorber, and sort table.
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| in Feed end Brush Washer |
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| absorber end & Sort Table Brush washer |
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| Water Bath |
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| Greens Spin Dryer |
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| Root Crop Barrel Washer |
