Tuesday, January 22, 2019

Whats Happen At Country Taste Farm



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. 


in Feed end Brush Washer

absorber end & Sort Table Brush washer

Water Bath

Greens Spin Dryer

Root Crop Barrel Washer