According to the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service, food safety is
defined as “A suitable product which when consumed orally either by a
human or an animal does not cause health risk to consumer.” The chain of
food safety begins with farmers in the field, but continues through
packinghouses, value-added production operations, farmers markets and
other vendors, and ultimately ends with the consumer.
Food safety practices must be in place at every point along the
farm-to-fork continuum, including the farmers market. Each year 1 out of
6 Americans will become ill from a foodborne pathogen. These pathogens
can be bacteria, viruses or parasites that are spread by contaminated
food.
There are three potential sources of health risks caused by food:
*Chemicals
*Physicals
*Biological
Fresh produce is often eaten raw—there is no “kill-step” or action taken
to kill bacteria/pathogens (in contrast to milk, for example, where
pasteurization is used as a “kill step” to eliminate pathogens). Produce
that is not cooked is therefore considered higher risk for pathogens
than those fruits and vegetables that are cooked.
Healthy ecosystems contribute to food safety in a number of ways.
Healthy, living soil will harbor a greater number and variety
of both macroscopic and microscopic organisms, and will thus be
less susceptible to colonization by unwanted pathogens.
Vegetative buffers can filter pathogens from streams and runoff,
and protect cropland from windborne pathogens.
It is important for fruit and vegetable growers to implement Good
Agricultural Practices, also known as GAPs, on their farms to reduce the
chance of foodborne pathogens contaminating their produce. Market
managers should become knowledgeable of GAPs and strongly encourage
vendors to have a food safety plan implemented on their farms.
Food safety on the farm
The Science Behind Baking Powder's Rise
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Baking powder revolutionized baking when it emerged in the early 1850s in
the United States, providing a convenient premixed leavening agent for
consumers....