June 2, 2020

Are Disinfectant Wipes Working for You?

Disinfectant wipes can seem like an easy Disinfecting wipesoption to disinfect surfaces during the COVID-19 pandemic. Label instructions for disinfectant wipes include a “allow to remain wet” statement for efficacy. In many cases, the surface needs to stay wet for at least 4 minutes in order to be effective. Check your product label to verify the time for your specific wipes.

How wet your wipe is to start, how large of a surface you use the wipe on, the surface type and environmental conditions will all impact how long the surface stays wet. In a simple test to evaluate the ability to maintain the required wet time, three disinfectant wipe products were tested on fours surfaces. In an indoor setting at 70 degrees and 60% relative humidity without much air movement these wipes were used on a finished wood surface, a solid countertop, a plastic folding table, and a plastic table cloth. In all cases one wipe on a 4 [Read more…]

Filed Under: Commercial Ag Updates, Field, Forage & Livestock, Food Safety, Fruit, Landscape, Nursery, & Turf, Plant Diagnostic Lab, Vegetable Crops Tagged With: , ,
May 30, 2020

On-Farm Direct Marketing Webinar Series Now Online

The four-part On-Farm Direct Marketing webinar series recordings are now available online and linked below.
Social Distancing and Safe Food Handling Guidance for Farm Markets, Wes Kline
Sales and Distribution Strategies, Bill Bamka and Steve Komar
U-Pick Guidance for Compliance with Executive Orders, Meredith Melendez
Farmer Panel Discussion, Featuring Tracy Duffield, Jessica Neiderer, and David Specca

For more production agriculture resources on COVID-19, including printable signage for customers and farmworkers visit the Rutgers On-Farm Food Safety COVID-19 webpage.

Filed Under: Commercial Ag Updates, Food Safety, Fruit, Vegetable Crops Tagged With: , , , , ,
May 27, 2020

Cloth Face Covering Requirements for Customers and Employees

Covid guidelines for small buisnessesAs farms start-up their pick-your-own seasons we are becoming more aware of negative customer feedback on social media sites.  Comments have mostly been specific to the requirement of customers wearing face coverings while outside at a farm retail business.  Your farm is deemed an “essential retail business” allowing you to be open, but requiring you to follow state guidelines.  Customers are required to wear cloth face coverings at all times while at any essential retail business, including farm markets, farm stands, and pick-your-own locations.  Those with health conditions where a face covering would cause a negative impact on their health and children under the age of two are exempted from this requirement.   This season will be unlike any other you have had at the farm, and your customers experience will be different than what they are used to.  This season your farm has the opportunity to provide a safe place to obtain local, healthy food, and hopefully they will make a few good memories while practicing social distancing and using face coverings appropriately.

We have gathered resources to help convey the Governors Executive Orders, and their impacts to your farm operation, below.  The second link is the newly released NJDH printable poster outlining the requirements of all businesses allowed to operate during this time, including the mandate all operating businesses require customers and employees to wear face coverings.

NJ Executive Order 122 – Full length (see page 6, letter K for specifics)
“Require workers and customers to wear cloth face coverings while on the premises, except where doing so would inhibit that individuals health or where the individual is under two years of age.”

NJDH Guidance for Retail Businesses – Requirements for all Businesses Continuing to Operate (printable poster)
“Require workers and customers to wear cloth face coverings, and require workers to wear gloves.”

NJDH/NJDA/DOL Guidance for Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers, Their Employers, and Housing Providers
“Workers must wear face coverings at all times, including during transportation, while working, and while in the presence of others.”

Filed Under: Commercial Ag Updates, Food Safety, Fruit, Landscape, Nursery, & Turf, Vegetable Crops Tagged With: , , , , , ,
May 15, 2020 and

Portable Toilets at Farm Markets and Tailgate Markets

Portable toiletsHaving a sufficient number of portable toilet facilities and properly cleaning and disinfecting them is even more important with COVID-19.  Your labor force may have increased, and your customer volume may be up.  You may need to rent additional toilets or have them serviced more frequently if the farm traffic warrants. A good portable toilet company will be prompt and thorough with their servicing and will leave documentation that each unit has been serviced.

Between visits from the servicing company, someone on your staff should be trained to clean and disinfect the units at least twice a day. Clean the hard surfaces using a detergent or soap and water followed by rinsing with potable water prior to disinfecting. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) maintains a list of disinfectants to use against COVID-19. It is imperative, once you have selected a product, to pay close attention to the contact time on the label which can vary from 1 to 10 minutes. This is the time that the surface MUST remain wet with the product for it to be effective. These disinfectants are for hard surfaces only- do not apply to produce or skin. Wear gloves since these products can irritate the skin.

A household bleach solution can be used to disinfect surfaces. Prepare the solution by mixing 5 tablespoons (1/3 cup) bleach per gallon of water or 4 teaspoons bleach per quart of water. Bleach and disinfectants should be stored in non-clear containers and used within 30 days after opening.  Proper ventilation and gloves are necessary when mixing this disinfection solution. For more details on using bleach as a disinfectant please read our earlier Plant and Pest Advisory post.  An alcohol solution with at least 70% alcohol can also be used to disinfect.

Filed Under: Commercial Ag Updates, Food Safety, Fruit, Vegetable Crops Tagged With: , , , ,
May 6, 2020

Printable Signage to Inform Customers of COVID-19 Policies

Communicating your policies to customers is critical during this season, especially about your COVID-19 policies.  Printable signs have been developed for use on New Jersey farms.  Click on the images below for a direct link to the letter-size paper printable of each sign. Visit the Rutgers On-Farm Food Safety COVID-19 website for more resources.

Cloth face coverings and gloves must be made available to employees by the business.  Employees must wear a cloth face covering and gloves but may supply their own if they prefer.  Customers must wear a cloth face covering while on the property of essential retail businesses.  If a customer cannot or is not willing to wear a face-covering you must consider alternative methods of selling your food to them.  An order can be taken over the phone, or in a parking lot.  Options include phone ahead orders or parking lot orders where staff select the items for the customer.

Face coverings required to shop inside

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Essential retail businesses must maintain social distancing in retail areas, and whenever possible in other areas.

Maintain social distancing

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pick your own operations to need to enforce face-covering use and social distancing in both indoor and outdoor areas of the farm.  Executive Order 122 requires the wearing of face coverings by staff and customers at essential retail businesses.  Prominent signage with your farm policies will help convey the message and ample posting on your social media sites.  You can create your own or use the one below.

Please follow our U-Pick Policy

Filed Under: Commercial Ag Updates, Food Safety, Fruit, Landscape, Nursery, & Turf, Vegetable Crops Tagged With: , ,
May 1, 2020

Disinfection of Surfaces for Prevention of COVID-19 Spread – Use Caution

Cleaning supplies

The chemical concentrations for the disinfection of high touch surfaces in retail markets during the COVID-19 pandemic are higher than we normally recommend. This concentration is for the disinfection of hard non-porous surfaces and is not for use on produce. Care must be taken to ensure the safety of yourself and your workers when using this concentration. Typical concentrations of bleach for sanitizing surfaces is 150 PPM, the disinfection recommended 1/3 cup bleach to 1 gallon of water is 1000 PPM. This concentration can be caustic to skin, airways, and produce.  Take the following precautions:

1. Clean the surface with detergent removing all visible debris and with a clean water rinse.
2. Conduct mixing in a well-ventilated area and increase ventilation when possible in areas of use, wear rubber gloves to protect skin from contact with the bleach and bleach solution.
-If skin comes in contact with the bleach or bleach solution rinse with water, if irritation continues call a doctor.
-If the bleach or bleach solution comes into contact with the eyes rinse with water for 15 minutes, if irritation continues call a doctor.
5. Chlorine PPM measurement strips typically used in packing houses do not go up to 1000 PPM.
-1000 PPM test strips are available online through Granger, Amazon, and restaurant supply stores.
-Test strips must be for FREE chlorine, not total chlorine.
-Test strips have expiration dates, make sure yours are not expired.
6. Follow bleach label instructions for contact time requirement. This is the amount of time your surface needs to stay wet with the bleach solution to ensure efficacy and is usually 1 minute or more.
7. Use containers of bleach that have been opened no longer than 30 days to ensure proper concentration.
8. Mixed concentrations of bleach should be stored at cool temperatures and away from direct light, used within a few days and retested for PPM prior to each use to ensure correct concentration.
9. Do not mix bleach with any other cleanser!

Filed Under: Commercial Ag Updates, Food Safety, Fruit, Landscape, Nursery, & Turf, Vegetable Crops Tagged With: , , ,