March/April 2023 - 22

CPS
WWW.CENTERFORPRODUCESAFETY.ORG
Farm incorporates produce safety
into design from the ground up
Food safety is a
By Monica Noble
Director of quality
and safety,
80 Acres Farms
bui lding block of
controlled environment
agriculture (CEA). 80
Acres Farms was built
on the premise that we
could leverage CEA's
design advantages to
deliver safe foods. We
want to give consumers
fresh, high-quality
produce year-round. To
accomplish that, we must have a steady,
food-safe supply.
Because CEA technology is evolving,
we can influence food safety through our
farm design. We build food safety and
sanitary design concepts into how we
grow, pack and deliver food. The farm
we built two years ago was our most
high-tech ever. Two years later, we have
learned so much that our next farm will
look very different.
Coming from traditional agriculture to
CEA, I now think about risk differently. The
food safety hazards are similar, but how
they happen in CEA is different. Things
that are traditionally separated by miles -
from seed to finished product - we
have under one roof. So we incorporate
learnings from traditional food and
produce industries into our farms. As
a result, we treat our farms more like
processing facilities than traditional farms.
We have all the usual food-safety
programs processing facilities do. For
example, we have strong manufacturing
practices and certifications, and we
use traffic patterns and color-coding to
prevent cross-contamination between
different risk areas. We also try to
incorporate these practices on the
growing side so that our processes are
more homogenous.
There is still a lot we don't know. We're
still learning how the food safety risks
common to outdoor farming translate to
our indoor operations - how high the
risks are to our operations, how those
22 MARCH/APR I L 2 023
risks go throughout our process and how
to better control them.
So we participate in Center for Produce
Safety (CPS) to be part of an ecosystem
of knowledge that will help us get where
we need to go.
A treasure trove of research
CPS's 2023 Research Symposium, June
20-21 in Atlanta, will feature reports on
13 finished research projects and updates
on 14 ongoing projects. Small breakout
sessions will follow, so we can discuss
findings with researchers and industry
colleagues. These breakouts are rare
chances to ask questions, have frank
conversations and explore impacts for our
businesses. A general session will explore
a timely topic and its relevance to fresh
produce food safety: Last year, we were
surprised by what we learned from the
airline industry's safety overhaul.
I attend the symposium every year, even
though as a member of CPS's Technical
Committee I help guide and follow CPS
research year-round. I attend to hear
researchers' final reports and to learn
how my colleagues react, to talk with
them about how they plan to apply what
they've learned, and to bounce ideas off
them. I've had conversations that have
changed how I see something and how I
practice produce safety. These interactions
are value-added.
2 projects to watch
I am watching two CPS research projects
in particular. While CEA-centric, they are
relevant across the fresh produce supply
chain. They also demonstrate how CPS is
able to react rapidly to a changing world.
University of Arkansas' Kristen Gibson
is looking into what we know - and
need to know - about microbial risks
in indoor leafy-green production. This
two-year project will gather current
science to identify best practices proven to
enhance CEA-grown leafy greens safety.
Researchers will interview U.S. CEA
operators to benchmark current practices
and food-safety knowledge gaps. Gibson's
team will explore questions including,
what information is out there? How can
we use that? What is the industry doing
right, and maybe not perfect? Where are
the gaps? Where do we need help?
CPS researcher Ana Allende's twoyear
project seeks to understand
where food safety risks occur in CEA.
Her team will study how pathogens
of concern - Salmonella spp. and
Listeria monocytogenes, specifically -
move from one place to another, and where
in the process we find risk - whether that's
inputs, water or equipment. Two major
Spanish CEA growers are collaborating
with Allende; industry input is a
longstanding hallmark of CPS research.
To learn more about these and other
CPS research projects, visit www.
centerforproducesafety.org/fundedresearch-projects.php.
The
Center for Produce Safety helps 80
Acres Farms feel confident that we are
focusing on the right areas of fresh produce
food safety and are leveraging the latest
tools to live up to indoor farming's promise
of delivering safe produce. CEA is a small
segment of the fresh produce industry; to
be part of something larger benefits CEA.
CPS is also important to you. CPS
exists to conduct usable research that
can improve produce safety and to
get industry involved and using this
knowledge. We all want our consumers to
trust us to deliver safe produce. For more
information, check out resources available
at www.centerforproducesafety.org, and
join us for the Research Symposium in
Atlanta in June.
Monica Noble is director of quality and
safety for 80 Acres Farms, an indoor producer
of salad greens, microgreens, herbs, tomatoes
and cucumbers in Hamilton, Ohio. She is a
member of the Center for Produce Safety's
Technical Committee, which guides CPS's
produce-centric food safety research program.
http://WWW.CENTERFORPRODUCESAFETY.ORG http://www.centerforproducesafety.org/funded http://www.centerforproducesafety.org
March/April 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of March/April 2023
