Start off your Spring-cleaning routine using this checklist that features common farm equipment and food contact surfaces that must be cleaned before harvest.
With harvest season around the corner, creating and carrying out a pre-harvest cleaning and sanitizing routine will help save time in the future and get you organized for the upcoming season. You can use the cleaning checklist below to help streamline your process.
Remember with all cleaning on the farm that the FSMA Produce Safety Rule ((112.123 (d)(1)) states that you must inspect, maintain, and clean and, when necessary and appropriate, sanitize all food contact surfaces of equipment and tools used in covered activities as frequently as reasonably necessary. You must also maintain and clean all non-food-contact surfaces of equipment and tools used during harvesting, packing, and holding as frequently as reasonably necessary to protect against contamination of covered produce (112.123 (d)(2)).
Also, if your farm is covered under the Produce Safety Rule you are required to keep records of the cleaning and sanitizing for food contact surfaces of equipment, tools, and buildings. The cleaning and sanitizing record must include the date and method by which the food contact surface was cleaned/sanitized as well as documentation and date of a supervisory review, plus the reviewer’s signature.
Resources
Cleaning & Sanitizing Checklist
Cleaning and Sanitizing Log Template
Written by Allissa Conley, Produce Safety Technician