Food safety and Farmers Markets
A recent study in the USA reinforces the importance of Framer’s Markets vendors ensuring that good food safety practices are followed prior to and during the Market.
In the study around one third of the fresh produce being sold at Northern California Farmer’s Markets contained generic E.coli. The test was intended to identify what level of faecal contamination was on the fresh produce being sold. The study was not looking at pathogenic E.coli.
44 certified farmers markets were sampled across Northern California by University of California – Davies to check on the food safety risks of fresh produce and some meat and poultry.
338 beef and poultry products were sampled and 1.8 percent were found to contain Salmonella. 128 fresh produce samples were also taken and none of these contained Salmonella.
However, 31.8 percent of the fresh produce samples contained E.coli. with an average concentration of 0.13.
It was the leafy green and root vegetables which contained the highest levels of E.coli.
The findings , even if applied to Australian Farmers Markets, highlight two major issues;
- Vendors at Farmers Markets need to ensure they are following good food hygiene and safety principles and practices
- All fresh produce, even if not from a Framers Market, should be washed before use.