Food safety is top-of-mind at premium green grower Baker Farms
Food safety is top-of-mind at premium green grower Baker Farms
Four decades ago, Terry Baker planted some land in central Georgia, near Norman Park, in cabbage and Southern vegetables. There was no such thing as the Food Safety Modernization Act, but handling with care was already a top priority for the entity that would become premium Georgia greens grower Baker Farms.
“Food safety is at the forefront of it for sure,” said Joe Baker. “You don’t want your family eating anything that could be dangerous in any way. You want to make sure there’s a process in place to make sure that our products are not only safe, but are also the grade we expect. Our HACCP and food-safety program came not only from best practices, but out of a concern for overall health. We wouldn’t feed our families anything but the highest quality product here and we’re able to do that.”
The Bakers are particularly proud of Primus GFS Superior ratings for all their fields and facilities with an aggregate score above 98.
Terry Baker’s sons Joe and Richard took over the operation from their father as they came of age. By the time Baker Farms launched its first private label a year ago, the company was farming 3,000 acres and shipping 1.3 million boxes of premium bunch mixed greens annually.
The Bakers’ new processing facility is state-of-the-art and gives the company the option to package not only their premium Baker Farms label greens, but also create custom orders for retail, wholesale and foodservice in addition to continuing to handle bulk greens and other items ranging from beets to zucchini.
After 40 years growing greens year-round in central Georgia, Joe and Richard Baker made the decision a year ago to bag and tag their product with a private label and reintroduce it at retail. They opened a new state-of-the-art packaging facility in Norman Park with multiple lines and the capacity to produce 130 tons of ice on the premises daily to ensure quality, freshness and safety.
The reception was excellent and demand grew quickly. One year out, the project is an unqualified success.
The Bakers credit their attention to detail and control of the growing process for that. Joe and Richard have the same dedication to the land they work and live on that their father did. They still believe in controlling a crop from greenhouse seed production to store shelf. And they still put health and safety above all else.
