Keeping those farm fresh veggies and fruits fresh By Diane Wright Hirsch, MPH Senior Extension Educator/Food Safety Recently I had a call from a mom asking if she should wash her berries before storing in the fridge. Her 30-something daughter, who, of course, knows everything, insisted that she should wash first. The mom wasn’t […]
fresh produce
Listeria and Fresh Produce
What is Listeria and why is it showing up in fresh produce? By Diane Wright Hirsch, MPH, RD UConn Extension Educator – Food Safety Yet another outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes has been attributed to fresh produce: bagged lettuce in this case. You may recall the 2011 outbreak associated with cantaloupe that turned out to […]
Post-Harvest Handling Workshop
In June, UConn Extension hosted a Small-Scale, Low-Cost Facility Design for Post-Harvest Handling, with Robert Hadad, Cornell Cooperative Extension Vegetable Specialist. Connecticut and Rhode Island farmers from smaller fruit and vegetable operations learned low-cost ways to address food safety of fresh produce through cooling, washing, use of sanitizers and packing area sanitation. Robert is shown with his […]
Grow a Safe Salad
By: Diane Wright Hirsch, MPH, RD UConn Extension Educator – Food Safety Year round farmers markets are already selling early spring greens to those of us who have been craving the fresh, locally grown stuff during the long winter months. The use of greenhouses, cold frames and hoop houses and other season-extending contraptions make it possible for […]
Gardens, gardens, everywhere…
….be sure to grow with food safety in mind By Diane Wright Hirsch, MPH, RD UConn Extension Educator – Food Safety It is hard to believe that spring is just around the corner. Though we in Connecticut were all teased with 35-degree temperatures, we are quickly back in the deep freeze, surrounded by ugly, dirty […]
Get Your Money’s Worth in Food
By Sherry Gray – Extension Instructor Nutrition Educator, EFNEP Supervisor Foods & Nutrition In many urban and very rural communities, there are fewer supermarket choices making it even more difficult to buy nutritious foods at affordable prices. Food prices have been going up dramatically over the past few years, making it hard for anyone to […]