Went raspberry picking this morning and as I pulled up to the stand I noticed a portable sink and

C

cynupstateny

Well-known member
liquid hand soap. They ask everyone who picks to wash their hands before picking. I didn't mind but asked why. He said it was an organic field, they don't spray their berries and they sell at farmer's markets.

Has anyone experienced this?

 
No but what a great idea. It sure demonstrates respect for the quality statement of organic.

I often wonder what has been on the hands of all the people involved in getting some of these products to me, many of which I cannot wash. (the products, not the handlers' hands)

 
I think that is kinda overkill. If the field is open to the air and animals and birds . . .

can fly over it, well, you know what animals and birds do. Insects too! Now, maybe if you were volunteering to harvest for them and the stuff was being taken directly to the farmer's market to sell. . . . How is a hand washing stand and the request for self-pickers to wash their hands making things or keeping things organic? Is the soap organic?

The biggest problem here is having that wash stand out there may make people think that they don' t have to worry about washing stuff when they get home. Lots of wind, weather, animals and insects have access to that field and those berries; it's not just humans.

 
--and I don't know how it is around you all, but at the local farmers' markets here . . .

the produce is generally NOT washed. Maybe bagged greens are washed, but the rest of the stuff, not washed; I can see that it is not washed. If you want washing, you do it at home.

 
some stuff does not wash well. We will soak in apple cider vinegar

I'm referring to stuff like spinach which might degrade quickly but also fruits and other things are supposed to last longer after being washed in vinegar/water. There are also natural products usually based on citrus or vinegar. Veggiewash I think you can get at Whole Paycheck.

 
I don't think it has anything to do with being organic, but a hygiene precaution

It wouldn't matter whether the fruit or veggies are organic, but it would minimize the spread of human-born bacteria and pathogens.

 
I think that people who care enough to grow organic, care enough to extend the concern beyond the

norms of mass cultivation, harvest and hyped-up production.

Transferring nasties of one type or another, from person to person, is unavoidable, but I sure don't think it hurts to try to minimize it. You just need one person in your family to have suffered (in some cases fatally) from what could have been avoided, to realize how vulnerable we can be. But I'm not sure I fully appreciate what this farmer is trying to avoid.

It would be interesting to ask this farmer more about the thinking behind this procedure.

 
It is good practice. Along the same line, our grocery stores here have hand wipes upon entering the

store for wiping your hands and the handles of the grocery carts. Some stores have hand sanitizer at check stands for using while you are checking out. I keep hand sanitizer in my purse and car. I got into the habit of this when I was visiting hospitals, assisted living facilities and schools with my pet therapy dog. It was a requirement in our group to keep our hands and our dogs paws as clean as possible. We also had training classes in infection control.
In this day and age with everything that is going on at our borders, rampant illness in certain parts of the world, and now the new virus that is rampant in the midwest and has spread into Canada, and who knows where else...I don't think we can be too careful. I have not had a common cold, Influenza, or any stomach illnesses for years, and am so thankful for whatever is that we are doing right.

 
At this one store I shop at, I always used to think the person in front of me had

been drinking, I could smell alcohol. Then one day I saw the hand sanitizer wipes and put two and two together. Duh!

 
The market here which has markets on different days, in different places

have cleaned up produce. Not scrubbed, but nothing has dirt clinging to it so that it falls off into ones basket. Most of the field greens have been swished in a tub of water, shaken then put into open plastic bags/ The fruits such as berries, peaches, apples, pears, kiwi, etc, are not washed. I have often commented on how clean every thing looks and they will tell you to wash before eating or storing. Since it is organic, when I do wash the greens or other produce, I always find a lady bug, praying mantis, or little critters, especially in the broccoli, and I don't want those things in my fridge. The tomatoes are not washed either.
I learned from a friend long ago, to wash all my lettuces, kales, chard when I get home and put into a spinner. It used to be a pain, but now I am used to it and love that I can have a salad ready in no time. Plus I find that my husband eats more greens with his sandwiches.

 
My sister made raspberry jam one year and ,thank goodness, put some out in a dish for serving.

Don't know how she missed it but there was a Japanese beetle in it! She stopped making jam.

 
I always use those hand wipes now - because in Jan I got H1N1 (again) @ the grocery store.

I know it was from there, because I hadn't been out/around anyone till shopping for NYE - and nobody at the NYE gathering was/got sick, but me.

 
I am a convert. I now use them all the time after getting a really bad flu

and like you, I know it had to be from the shopping cart at the grocery store. At home, I rarely use sanitizer, just plain old soap and water.

 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top