Food-safety posters developed for workers, consumers picking strawberries as season gears up
Food-safety posters developed for workers, consumers picking strawberries as season gears up
With the strawberry season gearing up in North Carolina, North Carolina State University’s Plants for Human Health Institute in Kannapolis, NC, has published a series of downloadable, printable posters to help educate workers and customers about produce safety and post-harvest handling on strawberry farms.
Diane Ducharme, an agricultural extension associate, stated in a news release, “We hope that growers will post these resources on their farms to help ensure that the berry-picking experience is not only fun, but as safe as possible from field to table.”
North Carolina strawberry producers harvest approximately 20.3 million pounds of strawberries annually, third in the United States, with pick-your-own accounting for 25 percent of the strawberries sold. According to Ducharme, “The posters are an important educational tool for growers because, while food safety measures are part of standard training procedures for farm workers, consumers visiting pick-your-own operations may not be familiar with best practices for handling fresh produce.”
Three sets of posters are available. Two sets, for workers and consumers, serve as one-page, effective visual reminders for adult learners, each including a single point, for example: “Don’t pick when you’re sick,” and a brief explanation. The third set of posters is designed in a storytelling manner, about a family outing to a pick-your-own strawberry farm. Each page asks readers to identify what’s wrong in the story and teaches the corrective action.
Amy Douglas, owner of The Farmer’s Daughter in Taylorsville, NC, plans to “print them all and put them in a three-ring binder to help educate employees and customers,” according to the news release.
North Carolina strawberries are grown on more than 1,600 acres and generate more than $29 million in farm income during the five- to eight-week season. Nearly all North Carolina strawberries are sold for fresh market, direct to consumer or through grocery chains.
The Plants for Human Health Institute is part of the North Carolina Research Campus in Kannapolis, a public-private venture including eight universities, one community college, the David H. Murdock Research Institute and corporate entities that collaborate to advance the fields of human health, nutrition and agriculture.
