Virginia Producers and Experts Work Together to Ensure a Safe Food Supply
In partnership with: Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
Being a grower involves so much more than tending to and harvesting plants. It requires an intense focus on the safety of all practices that happen on the farm, from the first day of planting to the day when washed and packed produce heads off to a grocery store or restaurant. Growers, state officials and academics are all working together to ensure that every step of the growing and packing process keeps food safety top of mind.
GAP Mentoring
In her role as associate professor of food science at Virginia Tech, Laura Strawn is an expert on both the theory and the practice of food safety. “In the lab, I study the survival and growth of foodborne pathogens,” she says. “In the field, I work with Virginia Cooperative Extension colleagues on developing mitigation strategies to reduce potential food contamination through environmental monitoring programs for small and large produce packers all around the state.”
Strawn is proud to be part of the launch of a Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) mentoring program, sponsored by the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. “We’re in the enrollment phase now, and it will go live in 2021,” she says.
Safe and Trackable
Carlos Ordaz Jr. is the public relations manager for Rosa’s Garden, which is owned and operated by his parents, Carlos Sr. and Rosa. The family’s 125-acre farm, located about 15 minutes from Richmond, grows a wide variety of vegetables, but it’s best known for its Hanover tomatoes, a variety that thrives in the area’s high-nitrogen, sandy soil. “We’re the only GAPs-certified, Hispanic-owned farm on the East Coast,” he says. Produce safety practices here go the extra mile, including by-package labeling that can track which field the produce was grown in, which crew picked it and when it was picked.
See more: Splendid Virginia Tomatoes and Potatoes
Growing in Water
Consumer interest in hydroponically grown produce is also increasing. In Elkwood, BrightFarms hydroponically grows salad greens inside greenhouse farms. “Food safety is our No. 1 priority,” says Jackie Hawkins, senior manager of food safety. “Our hydroponic approach does not use dirt, soil, manure or any other growing source that could cause contamination. We grow, harvest, pack and ship from one greenhouse per market and drive it directly to our customers, with no entities in between. Our facilities are all Safe Quality Food certified, which is one of the highest standards possible.”