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Food Safety at your Farmers Market: Vendors

Laurie George

Extension Associate

Product Safety Alliance

ljg233@cornell.edu

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Sales at Farmers Markets

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PRODUCTS* AT FARMERS MARKETS

	FRESH VEGETABLES	FRESH FRUITS	PREPARED FOODS	EGGS, CHEESE, & DAIRY	MEATS & POULTRY	FISH & SEAFOOD
NATIONWIDE	66%	56%	42%	29%	27%	17%
ILLINOIS	62%	54%	40%	26%	30%	14%

https://www.ams.usda.gov/local-food-directories/farmersmarkets

*28 categories

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FOOD SAFETY

IN ILLINOIS:

Il Department of Public Health

Illinois Cottage Food Act

Market rules and regulations

Photo: pxfuel.com

What about the raw agricultural products (produce)?

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Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Produce Safety Rule

First ever mandatory federal standard for growing, harvesting, packing, and holding of fresh produce

Some growers may be eligible for an exemption or excluded based on:

Commodities grown (e.g., rarely consumed raw)
Processing activities that include a ‘kill step’
Average annual produce sales - ^$33,297 over three yrs.
Average annual food sales and sales to ‘qualified end users’

Ultimately, all growers should understand and take action to reduce food safety risks on the farm

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Is Your Farm Covered by the FSMA Produce Safety Rule?

For details:

https://www.fda.gov/media/94332/download

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Outbreaks Associated with Produce

Photo credit: Produce Safety Alliance

This graph highlights the diversity of produce items that have been implicated in foodborne illness outbreaks where the source of the outbreak likely occurred prior to retail or consumer preparation – basically between production and reaching the retail stores/consumers
These data do not contain information on outbreaks/illnesses where the point of contamination is the retail food setting or home.
These data do not include illnesses transmitted from person-to-person.
Ultimately, contamination can happen to any produce commodity; therefore, preventing contamination is critical for all fruit and vegetable growers.
For this reason, the FSMA Produce Safety Rule does not target specific commodities, but instead, focuses on the practices which reduce risks.

Pie chart notes:

*One outbreak of Cyclospora associated with raspberries in 1997 accounts for 1,012 illnesses, with no information on hospitalizations and deaths.

** Two outbreaks in 2004 were associated with mesclun lettuce and/or basil.

*** “Other” includes one outbreak associated with each of the following commodities: celery, hazelnuts, hot peppers, pine nuts, pistachios, snow peas, and squash. The single Salmonella Saintpaul outbreak associated with hot peppers accounts for 1,535 illnesses, 308 hospitalizations, and 2 deaths.

+ Five outbreaks during this time period were associated with unknown produce; while no specific produce item was identified as the vehicle for these outbreaks, various produce items were found to be epidemiologically associated with illness.

Other Notes:

Illness data represent only the number of illnesses reported to CDC, FDA, and state/local health departments in association with an outbreak. These data do not include illnesses that may have occurred but were not reported, sporadic cases of illness, and illnesses not associated with a food vehicle.
Information on outbreaks/illness reported prior to 2004 has been compiled from paper records; information on outbreaks/illnesses since 2004 has been obtained from the CFSAN Outbreak Surveillance Database.
The outbreaks tracked by FDA are a subset of all the outbreaks tracked by CDC. CDC also tracks outbreaks/illnesses where the point of contamination is the retail food setting or the home. Due to lags in reporting of illnesses, some differences in numerical tallies may exist between FDA and CDC data.

Slide Reference:

The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC). (2013). Produce Outbreak Data. Prepared by CORE Post Response Team on January 13, 2013.
D'Lima, C., & Vierk, K. (2011). Memorandum to the Record. In: Produce Related Outbreaks and Illnesses. Food and Drug Administration.
Merriweather, S., Cloyd, T.C., & Gubernot, D. (2015). Memorandum to the File — Produce Related Outbreaks and Illnesses 2011–2014. In: Produce Related Outbreaks and Illnesses. Food and Drug Administration.

Additional Resource:

FDA Fact Sheet. Why doesn’t this rule only target fruits and vegetables that are known to have caused outbreaks of foodborne illness?: �http://wayback.archive-it.org/7993/20170111192634/http://www.fda.gov/downloads/Food/GuidanceRegulation/FSMA/UCM360758.pdf

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So why should a vendor be concerned with outbreaks?

Food-based illnesses not unique to large commercial growers

2000 – Cantaloupe, CO.
2008 - Bagged peas, AK
2010 - Guacamole and salsa, IA
2011 – Strawberries, OR
2017 - Fresh shelled peas, WI

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Of these listed:

176 cases of illness (E.coli 0157:H7, and Campylobacter jejuni)

18 hospitalizations

2 deaths

Sirsat, S.A., et al. (2015) Food Safety at Farmers’ Markets: Fact or Fiction

Young, I., et al. (2017). Food Safety at Farmers’ Markets: A knowledge Synthesis of Published Research

When I discuss the FMSA Produce Rule to growers, the first thing that they mention is the fact that they feel the majority of food related illnesses do not come from the smaller growers who sell at farmers markets. Or the fact that they do not see a need for these changes….One comment that comes up all the time during discussions is that fact that “I have been growing and selling produce for the past twenty years and have never made anyone sick”. Unfortunately, I cannot say that this is the case for all growers that sell direct-to-consumers.

There have been several farmers’ market-related foodborne disease outbreaks. For instance, illnesses were reported in 2000 with cantaloupe samples sold in Colorado, 2008 after farmers’ market customers consumed contaminated bagged peas sold at an Alaskan farmers’ market (Gardner et al., 2011). Following this, in 2010, fresh guacamole and salsa sold at a farmers’ market in Iowa was possibly contaminated with Salmonella leading to several hospitalizations (Quinlisk, 2010). A produce-related outbreak at an Oregon farmers’ market in 2011 was traced to strawberries contaminated with Escherichia coli O157:H7 – traced back to wild animals entering the production fields (USDA, 2011). In 2017, seven people confirmed with Salmonella poisoning linked to fresh shelled peas from a farmers market in Wisconsin.

CLICK

Of these that are listed, there were 176 cases of illness due to E. Coli 0157:H7 or or Campylobacter jununi (which are both bacterial infections in nature, generally found in animal feces).

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Majority of food safety responsibility falls on the grower…….

Photo credit: US Marines.mil

Photo credit: Janie Maxwell

The majority of the responsibility, to make sure the fresh fruits and vegetables sold at the farmers market are safe, will fall with the growers.

It is important to understand how contamination can be spread.

In the picture on the left, how many times have you had a customer come up to your booth, pick up a tomato, peach, or other product, squeeze it, smell it, then put it back on the table and walk away? What about the picture on the right? Animals at the market is common, but vendors should be aware that animals that can reach tabletops can spread contamination with saliva or dirt. If you have boxes or food near the ground, the animals can also contaminate by lifting their leg on the product(s), or brush against it.

One way to combat this problem is to make sure the produce is off the ground or staged higher up so animals cannot reach it. If customers are the problem, be proactive. If the customer picks up the produce, squeezes or sniffs it, then let them know that they have just bought it! OR, move the product further back on a table, out of reach from the customer. This may not resonate with some people, they may not like it. Remember, it’s your product and your farm name that can be implicated in a foodborne outbreak should someone get sick from your products.

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Market Vendors

Vendors must comply with all local health department regulations and market-specific bylaws. This often includes using, for example, the Illinois Department of Public Health Farmers Market Food Product Sampling Handler Certificate if offering samples, and/or having appropriate licenses to sell your products

Vendors must display a sign identifying their farm/business name and location

Maintaining a clean, organized, and safe selling area

If handling food, having proper handwashing stations, use sanitized equipment

Use sanitizers labeled for food contact surfaces – tables, dishes/utensils

Train your employees

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Topics Covered:

Why should growers use an EPA-Labeled sanitizer?

What should a grower look for in a sanitizer label?

How can growers select an appropriate sanitizer for their operation?

What resources are available to assist growers in finding the right sanitizer for their operation?

Additional Resources

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Produce Safety Alliance EPA-Labeled Sanitizers for Produce�Database updated: 8/28/25

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wETvnPpO_6o

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TRAINING AVAILABLE

National Good Agricultural Practices Program – based at Cornell University ($$) https://gaps.cornell.edu/

Produce Safety Alliance Grower Training ($$)

https://cals.cornell.edu/produce-safety-alliance/training

There are training courses available:

National Good Agricultural Practices Program – based at Cornell University. This is a three-week, self-paced course developed to improve understanding of good agricultural practices to guide assessment of risks and implementation of practices to reduce risks on fresh produce farms. This course allows participants to complete all requirements when time permits in their schedule. There are no required hours of participation. There is an instructor. Course is completed in three weeks and covers topics such as cleaning and sanitation, worker training, hygiene, and health, water use, among others. A certificate of completion will be issued once all modules have been completed. There is a cost associated with this course.
Produce Safety Alliance Grower Training – This IS equivalent to the required supervisor training described in the FSMA Produce Safety Rule. It is a one-day course that discusses produce safety, worker health, hygiene, and training, wildlife and domesticated animals, water uses, postharvest handling and sanitation, and food safety plans. This course is a requirement for all growers, that fall under the federally mandated Food Safety Modernization Act Produce Rule. Training dates in Illinois are variable, and can be found at the website listed. There are usually costs associated with these trainings.

I am sure that there are other courses available online if you look. These three are ones that I am most familiar with.

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Produce Safety Alliance

https://cals.cornell.edu/produce-safety-alliance

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Food Safety at your Farmers Market: Vendors

Laurie George

Extension Associate

Product Safety Alliance

ljg233@cornell.edu

Lillian Nabwiire

Food Safety Extension Educator

905 S Goodwin Ave 520D Bevier Hall Urbana IL 61801

Phone : (217) 244-2093

Email nabwiire@illinois.edu

Food Safety Team – IIlinois: