How Traceable Is Your Tray?

Wisconsin Department of Public InstructionKatherine Pike, Nutrition Program Consultant

Angela Farris, Public Health NutritionistAllison Pfaff, Nutrition Program Consultant

Traceability Scenario: Background

Background Recap

• Betty Banana at Vegetable Elementary just woke up from a horrible nightmare!!

• Betty dreamt her students fell ill with E. Coli after consuming school lunch.

• Betty served homemade lasagna with a side salad on the day in question.

• Today we’ll help Betty track where her food could have been contaminated.

Purpose

• Our activity today will follow the

traceability of lettuce served in the side

salad at Vegetable Elementary.

• This is not a ‘Who done it?’ exercise – we are focusing on where potential food safety mistakes could have been made along the supply chain with only one food item.

Definitions

• Traceability: the ability to verify the history & location of a product by means of documented recorded identification.

• Supply Chain: the sequence of processes involved in the production and distribution of a product.

Henry’s Farm

Processor DistributorVegetable

Elementary

School Greenhouse

Supply Chain 1

Supply Chain 2

Student’s Tray

Distributor

Processor Henry’s Farm

School Greenhouse

School Nutrition Director• Vegetable Elementary serves 100 students each day.

• Betty shared her goal of increasing fresh fruits and

vegetables at the beginning of the school year.

• Vegetable elementary school operates a school greenhouse. When available, the program serves produce from the greenhouse.

• To support the farm to school initiative, the produce bid included a “buy local when available” clause. The produce distributor responded to the bid stating romaine could be provided when in season.

• The contract includes the following requirements:

– Produce must be delivered in a cleaned and refrigerated truck.

– The vendor must maintain a minimum of five million dollars in product liability insurance, and maintain a food safety plan for the warehouse.

• The distributor must follow local, state, and federal regulations.

Break Into 5 Groups

• Each group will be assigned a role in the supply chain

• You have 10 minutes to read your scenario and answer questions

• Please pick a spokesperson to discuss your group’s answers

Supply Chain 1

Supply Chain 2

Student’s Tray

Distributor

Processor Henry’s Farm

School Greenhouse

Time’s Up!

Student’s Tray Prepared by Kitchen Staff

How Traceable Is Your Tray?

Student’s Tray

Kitchen Staff

• Fresh produce is received weekly from the distributor and periodically from the greenhouse.

• Salads are prepared each day as an option with mixed greens from the greenhouse and romaine from the distributor. All salads are stored in a refrigerator.

• Due to the slow movement of fresh produce (especially lettuce), kitchen staff often remove decayed produce and transfer the remaining acceptable produce to a storage container in the walk in refrigerator.

• During meal production, employees rinse fresh produce under running water prior to handling.

• Employees wear gloves when handling fresh produce. • When school greenhouse produce is received, it is stored with the

produce from the distributor. • Some produce is received from the distributor in a generic white

container. • Tracking information is not retained onsite.

Student’s Tray Prepared by Kitchen Staff

Supply Chain 1

Distributor

Distributor

• The distributor delivers romaine to Vegetable Elementary.

• Storage areas in the distributor’s warehouse are temperature-controlled according to fruit and vegetable post-harvest handling recommendations.

• Fresh produce is typically kept in the warehouse for less than 2 days before being delivered to a customer.

• All employees are trained in food safety and handling of fresh produce.

• The company’s HACCP plan has been in effect for several years without any complaints of foodborne illness.

• The company maintains a five million dollar product liability insurance policy that includes product recall and intentional contamination coverage. In addition, Henry’s Farm was required to obtain one million in product liability coverage prior to becoming a supplier.

Supply Chain 1

Student’s Tray Prepared by Kitchen Staff

Supply Chain 1

Distributor

Processor

Processor

• The processor shreds, dices, and packages the lettuce.• The processed lettuce is held at the processor for 24 hours until the

distributor picks up the product.• The processing equipment is scheduled for cleaning and sanitizing

after use, or after four hours of operation during continual use.• Fresh cut produce is washed in chlorinated water.• All employees are trained in food safety and handling of fresh

produce. • The company maintains a five million dollar product liability

insurance policy that includes product recall and intentional contamination coverage.

• Farms do not have to be GAP certified in order to sell to processor, but must show food safety records for handling compost (when applicable), water source testing, and personal hygiene training for harvesters.

Supply Chain 1

Student’s Tray

Distributor

Processor Henry’s Farm

Henry’s Farm

• 30 acre farm that has been in the same

family for several generations.

• Grows romaine and other specialty greens.

• The farm next door has a livestock operation.

• Due to infrequent rains, the farm has utilized a well to supplement the water supply. The well is tested annually for fecal coliforms.

• Romaine is bagged, placed in coolers and topped with ice packs, then delivered within two hours to the processor.

Supply Chain 1

Supply Chain 2

Student’s Tray

Distributor

Processor Henry’s Farm

School Greenhouse

School Greenhouse

• Students are responsible for planting, maintaining, and harvesting the fresh produce under the coordinator’s supervision.

• The greenhouse coordinator works closely with the school nutrition director to plant crops that can be prepared in the school kitchens and fit into the elementary school menu.

• The school greenhouse produces bell peppers, mixed greens, tomatoes, and various herbs for use in the school cafeterias.

• A rain barrel donated by the local hardware store is used to collect water for the greenhouse.

• Students learn how to water the soil, not the plants, to prevent possible contamination.

• No pesticides or chemicals are used in the school greenhouse. • The greenhouse is locked when not in use.• The school greenhouse produce is washed using a garden hose from a

municipal water source, then placed in plastic, cleaned, and sanitized tubs for transfer to school kitchens.

Summary

Take Away Message

• Be aware of your supply chain

• Food safety needs to occur at all levels

• Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)

• Maintain records

Resources

• Farm to School Toolkit

http://www.cias.wisc.edu/toolkits/

• DPI F2S Food Safety Website

http://fns.dpi.wi.gov/fns_f2ssafety

• DPI Procurement Website

http://fns.dpi.wi.gov/fns_procurement

Henry’s Farm

Processor DistributorVegetable

Elementary

School Greenhouse

Questions?

Contact Information

Katherine Pike, RDN, CDNutrition Program Consultant

(608) 266-2410katherine.pike@dpi.wi.gov

Angela Farris, MA, RDN, CDPublic Health Nutritionist

(608) 267-9206angela.farris@dpi.wi.gov

Allison Pfaff, RDN, CDNutrition Program Consultant

(608) 267-1066allison.pfaff@dpi.wi.gov

Thank You!

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