Celebrating Agricultural Workers During Food Safety Month
Foodborne illness sickens roughly 1 in 6 Americans (or 48 million people), hospitalizes 128,000 and causes 3,000 deaths every year according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). These grim statistics can be improved by training and incentivizing farmworkers to focus on quality and food safety rather than speed and volume.
Equitable Food Initiative (EFI) is changing the culture on farms, making agricultural workers part of the solution to challenges in produce, particularly around food safety. EFI trains workers on proper hygiene, field sanitation and herbicide use while empowering them to challenge improper practices and procedures. “When workers’ basic needs aren’t met, they’re not thinking about food safety. We need to take care of people as well as the safety of food,” said Bri Ewing, food-science educator.
Producing healthy, fresh and safe fruits and vegetables is a priority on socially responsible farms. Orchards, greenhouses, ranches and packing operations under the EFI Program understand that with the right training, farmworkers can play a critical role in helping prevent a wide range of food pathogens such as E. coli, Salmonella and Listeria from contaminating crops. “Workers can be assets to the food safety plan if trained properly, or liabilities if not trained,” said Peter O’Driscoll, Executive Director of EFI.
EFI believes that food safety responsibilities reside on food workers at all levels in every role. Learn how to buy Responsibly Grown, Farmworker Assured® fruits and vegetables at: equitablefood.org/foodsafety.
Farmworkers Are an Essential Link in the Food Safety Chain
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Our Food Security Stories
Hear agricultural workers talk about the culture of food safety on EFI-certified farms:
Written by: Rebecca Castrejon, Community Engagement Officer for EFI
