Fresh Take

Today, we welcome back Ram, CEO of Quality Certification Services (QCS) and an experienced Food Safety Auditor and trainer on various food safety topics. Join us to learn more about how to safely shop during unprecedented times!
COVID-19 is not a foodborne illness!

Sanitizers vs. Disinfectants:
- Sanitizer are substance that significantly reduces the germ population, but doesn't destroy or eliminate all the germs. Typically, sanitizers do not claim to reduce viruses.

Disinfectants are substances that destroy germs: bacteria, fungi and viruses.

Hand sanitizers vs. sanitizers used in food processing facilities:

Ram shares that "not all hand sanitizer are tested against virus and bacteria. FDA tests are usually directed to how safe he product is to be applied to hands/body, and not necessarily the product's efficacy"

Sanitizer used at food processing facility are Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) registered and the label indicates the product's efficacy and what germs the product targets. Remember: Off label use of EPA approved sanitizes is a violation of US EPA regulation!

Alcohol based hand sanitizer vs. Alcohol-free hand sanitizer:

Accodrding to CDC, Alcohol-free hand sanitizers may are not work against many types of germs, including COVID-19. Ram shares "alcohol-free hand sanitizer is better than nothing."

Aalcohol based hand sanitizer is effective against COVID 19. CDC recommends a concentration greater than 60% if the active ingredient is ethanol or greater than 70% if the active ingredient is isopropanol.

Ram mentions, "The efficacy of hand sanitizer depends how dirty or oily your hands are, the type of germs you had contact with, and the alcohol content on the product applied"
Best practices while shopping!
- Maintain social distance
- Wash hands often and for at least 20 seconds
- Use hand sanitizer if soap and water are not available
- Limit the amount of products touched
- Wash produce to eliminate soil residues (COVID19 is no a foodborne illness)
- Wear a mask in public. Dispose gloves and mask in a safe way
- Wash the bags you bring to the store
- If feeling sick, do not leave the house and do not come in contact with others
- Follow the new store patterns and adapt "one way aisle"

Support you local farmers!
Use Florida Farmers' Market Association interactive map to find fresh healthy eats near you

Support the show

Due to the ongoing federal funding freeze, we must redirect our efforts to other FOG programs. But we need your help to keep programs like Fresh Take and other FOG initiatives alive!

Become a sponsor today! Your sponsorship is crucial for us to continue providing essential programs, including this podcast. Visit our sponsor page now to learn more and join our community of supporters. Together, we can make a significant impact!

Is the food we consume safe from COVID-19? How are farmers making sure it is safe to eat the fruits and vegetables they grow for all of us? Dr. Keith Schneider, food safety expert and a professor at the University of Florida’s Food Science and Human Nutrition Department answers these questions and provides more information about our food system during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dr. Schneider explains how farm and farmworkers are threatened by the COVID-19 and what is being done.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report that there is no evidence that food or food packaging facilitates the transmission of COVID-19. However, Dr. Schneider reminds us that it is always important to follow good hygiene practices when handling or preparing foods

One of the biggest production and distribution challenges farmers must deal with is their farm workers getting sick. Many produce farms are small operations run by one or two managers and a minimal crew. Thus, the safety of our food system begins on the farm and it can potentially be compromised if the workforce is out sick and cannot adequately perform the required tasks to grow and harvest crops.

To protect workers and practice proper food safety at the farm level, Dr. Schneider recommends increasing the use of Personal Protection Equipment (PPE), such as masks, goggles, gloves, etc., as well as to emphasize the use of suitable handwashing, sanitation and personal hygiene. Other recommendations include more distance between workers, avoid clustering during breaktime, “quarantining” people that regularly work together, and the use of barriers like plexiglass so there is less transfer of respiratory droplets.

Dr. Schneider also gives strategies on how to improve farm food safety:

Put as much distance between workers as possible.

Workers should continue to wash hands as they did before.

Workers need to self-report illness and not go to work if they are sick.

Administer temperature checks, although this may be ineffective as the virus can be asymptomatic.

After COVID we see that keeping workers safe the top priority. Going forward, continuing with a high focus on sanitation is the best way to keep the workforce healthy, which will help businesses stay open longer.

If you would like to learn more about CDC recommendations on food safety during COVID-19, visit here.

Support the show

Due to the ongoing federal funding freeze, we must redirect our efforts to other FOG programs. But we need your help to keep programs like Fresh Take and other FOG initiatives alive!

Become a sponsor today! Your sponsorship is crucial for us to continue providing essential programs, including this podcast. Visit our sponsor page now to learn more and join our community of supporters. Together, we can make a significant impact!

A very special guest joins us in this week’s episode! Rights of Nature state wide coordinator, Chuck O'Neal, speaks about natural resources and wildlife conservation in the state of Florida. Tune in to learn about the most pressing issues threatening Florida’s ecosystem and what you and your community can do to fight back! It doesn’t matter if you are a kid or an adult, everyone is needed to keep Florida alive!

Fresh Take is your weekly roundup of all things related to organic and sustainable living. Join Florida Organic Growers staff and guest experts as we discuss everything you need to know about sustainable living, organic agriculture, and how to make the best lifestyle choices that benefit you and the environment. So, if you’re an eco-warrior, a dedicated farmer, or just someone looking to make more conscious decisions, tune in every Friday to get your Fresh Take.

Florida Certified Organic Growers and Consumers, Inc. (FOG) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit established in 1987 as a grassroots organization, formed by those who believe in organic, sustainable, and regenerative agriculture. Our vision is to create a more sustainable and just food system that benefits both consumers and the environment.

Quality Certification Services (QCS) has been an industry leader in providing organic, food safety, and ethical certifications since 1989. As an accredited certifying agency, QCS has been meeting the demands of a growing food industry for more than 30 years. QCS is proud to offer organic and food safety certification for crop production, livestock, retail, restaurants, processing and handling, and importer and exporter operations of all sizes. As the largest US-based certification agency on the eastern seaboard, QCS and our staff of highly qualified and dedicated food and agricultural scientists, educators, and regulators, is capable of meeting all certification needs with expertise.

Support the show

Due to the ongoing federal funding freeze, we must redirect our efforts to other FOG programs. But we need your help to keep programs like Fresh Take and other FOG initiatives alive!

Become a sponsor today! Your sponsorship is crucial for us to continue providing essential programs, including this podcast. Visit our sponsor page now to learn more and join our community of supporters. Together, we can make a significant impact!

Gardening provides several health benefits. Among them, our guest speaker explains how designing and nurturing your garden can contribute to your self-care.

Ms. Marewski first became interested in sacred gardens through active meditation, which is a style of meditation that advocates movement followed by silence.

She explains that what we are doing physically transcends to what we are doing mentally, and that active meditation translates to the garden in a way of being totally present. “That dialogue is about the dialogue with the plants and what’s at hand. What does my garden need? What are the plants saying?”

Ms. Marewski explains her process for gardening and the meditation process that goes with each step of the nurturing process. Emphasizing that it’s not just feeding our bodies with good organic food but also about nurturing our soul.

There are many types of gardens that bring joy. Gardens can be created using raised beds or tucked into landscaping and various types of plants can be grown. What is most important is to focus on what resonates most for you—whether that be an edible garden, a medicinal garden, or a pollinator garden with lots of colorful annual and perennial flowers.

As flowers are the highest expression of a plant's energy, Ms. Marewski encourages letting plants go to flower and consuming edible flowers in your diet.
She also explains some of the unique uses for edible flowers:

• Begonia encourages letting go
• Borage brings courage and optimism
• Nasturtium brings balance from excess mental activity which is good for insomnia
• Sunnhemp is the energy of the sun so it brightens our day

For those who have issues with insomnia and sleep, she recommends Passionflower and St. Johns Wart which are both calming.

When starting your garden, she also notes the importance of using Organic soil, and explains the differences between Organic, Hybrid and GMO seeds.

Follow Gabriele’s adventures at StorySkyrts.com and learn more about Paradise Farms Organic, a showcase 5-acre certified organic farm specializing in micro-greens, baby greens, over 52 varieties of edible flowers, mushrooms, tropical fruits and vegetables located in Miami.

Support the show

Due to the ongoing federal funding freeze, we must redirect our efforts to other FOG programs. But we need your help to keep programs like Fresh Take and other FOG initiatives alive!

Become a sponsor today! Your sponsorship is crucial for us to continue providing essential programs, including this podcast. Visit our sponsor page now to learn more and join our community of supporters. Together, we can make a significant impact!

Mike Campbell, founder and lead farmer of South Florida’s first commercial aquaponic farm Bare Roots Organics, joins us to talk about how aquaponics fits into his vision for the future of sustainable farming.

Mike shares his journey and passion for building a sustainable world, driven by his background in film/television and love for nature and quality food. We will explore the importance of sustainable farming and the role of aquaponics in conserving resources compared to traditional agriculture. We will also discuss the cooperative relationship between plants and fish in aquaponics, highlighting the symbiotic environment involving three main players: fish, bacteria, and plants.

In this episode, learn about:

Mike Campbell and Bare Roots Organics

The basics of aquaponics

Resource conservation

Labor requirements to run an aquaponics farm
Learn more about Bare Roots Organics on the website: https://www.barerootsorganics.com/

For those interested in Mike’s products, he is a vendor on our Backyard Market, which is our virtual farmer’s market. Check out his variety of fresh greens at: https://backyardmarket.org/

Support the show

Due to the ongoing federal funding freeze, we must redirect our efforts to other FOG programs. But we need your help to keep programs like Fresh Take and other FOG initiatives alive!

Become a sponsor today! Your sponsorship is crucial for us to continue providing essential programs, including this podcast. Visit our sponsor page now to learn more and join our community of supporters. Together, we can make a significant impact!