Health, Hygiene, and Sanitary Practices

Adapted by Lynne Holland, Horticulture Professional

The following guidelines, while meant for farm employees, should be reviewed and understood by volunteer gleaners handling fresh produce. These have been developed by the University of Maine Extension Harvest for Hunger program through it participation in various gleaning organizations.

Employee Health, Hygiene, and Sanitary Practices

Each year, all workers are trained before they handle produce.  This training can be done in the field or a group setting.  It can be reinforced with a video that the volunteer can watch in a group setting or on their own. Rutgers New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station’s (approximately 12-minute) video, Gleaner Produce Safety Training: Protecting Those You Serve (YouTube), has an accompanying quiz that covers the most important aspects of food safety for gleaners in the field.

Each gleaner must realize and understand that:

• They are required to wash their hands before beginning or returning to handling produce. 
• They are required to wear reasonably clean clothes that protect the food product from bodily sources of contamination. 
• They are aware that contamination from field to field may occur with footwear and/or vehicular traffic.
• They recognize that smoking and eating are confined to designated areas, separate from produce areas.
• They are prohibited from handling produce if symptoms of an infectious disease exist.
  •  Symptoms include fever, vomiting, diarrhea, and jaundice. 
  • This information may need to be logged for traceability.
•  They should have had training on and understood the proper use of pre-harvest and post-harvest application materials, as well as non-regulated materials.
• They have had training on and know where there are written directions for the proper use of cleaners and sanitizers, and the proper concentrations for each product and use.   I know where there is personal protective equipment for me to use to do this work.
• They understand that they cannot use harvest containers for carrying or storing non-produce items during the harvest season.
• They realize and seek prompt treatment with clean first aid supplies for cuts, abrasions, and other injuries and report them.
  • They cannot handle produce if I have an exposed wound.
  • They must report and make sure that any produce that has come into contact with blood or other body fluids is appropriately disposed of and report this to a supervisor. 
• They must sneeze or cough away from the product or into the inside of my shirt. They must wash my hands before continuing work.
• They must report contamination by chemicals, petroleum, pesticides, glass, a major spill or leak of field sanitation units or toilet facilities, bodily fluids, or other contaminating factors.

All new gleaners or experienced gleaners new to a farm or harvest situation should be able to say the following:

• I have been trained on how to properly wash my hands, and signs are posted to remind me of this procedure.
• I have been instructed on the location of toilet facilities and their proper use.
• I have been instructed to eat, drink, or smoke only in designated (non-produce) areas to avoid contamination.
• I have been told that water in an unbreakable, capped container is the only thing I can carry into the produce area.
• I know that potable water is made available to all gleaners.
• I realize there may be a policy regarding the wearing of gloves, jewelry, hair, or beard nets, and other protective clothing.

Visitors are required to follow the same health and hygiene policies when entering produce areas or handling produce in a Good Agriculture Practices (GAP)-certified field (New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets). They must wash their hands before handling any produce. Visitors must report to the Farm/Team Leader or the Farm before entering the field.

Thank you for participating in Maine Harvest for Hunger’s gleaning programs. You have helped supply fresh, local produce to those in need. 

Your efforts are greatly appreciated. Please come back!

Adapted by Lynne Holland, Horticulture Professional