From the desk of
The Produce Safety Team
July 25th, 2021
Animals in Production Areas
Tips for Managing Animals and Pests in Enclosed and Partially Enclosed Production Areas
Emily Hale
Michigan Produce Safety Technician
Animals pose a risk to produce safety when entering production areas because they have the ability to carry and spread human pathogens. Animals and pests have the ability to contaminate produce and produce contact surfaces through depositing excrement as well as through tracking contaminants such as feces and soil into production areas.
Humidity and Produce Safety
Landen Tetil
Michigan Produce Safety Technician
Many crops thrive in high humidity settings, both in growth and storage. It’s no surprise, then, that many produce growers intentionally create high humidity environments on their farms for growing or storing produce, such as in storage rooms for apples or indoor growing rooms for mushrooms. Keeping humidity high in key areas on the farm can be a good thing – but are there food safety risks to consider, as well?
Condensate and Thermal Inefficiency
Jordan DeVries
Michigan Produce Safety Technician
Condensate in a cooler can be a huge produce safety risk. Check out this video for tips on how to manage your thermal load to reduce temperature imbalance, which will help with controlling condensate in your cooler.
Creating Humidity Without Condensate
Phil Tocco
Michigan State University Extension Educator
After a grower knows the humidity in the room is below the range of optimum for the crop being stored, then adding humidity makes sense. If at all possible, artificial humidification should be a last resort. If a grower needs to humidify a cold room, there are good ways and bad ways to do it.

As the droplet size of water decreases, effective humidification increases. Standard humidifiers create a mist with relatively large droplets. These droplets stick together and make condensate more than turn into humidity. As was discussed in a previous article, condensate is bad.

Several plans exist for humidifiers that can create really tiny droplets. Evaporative coolers pull dry air through special materials that hold a lot of water, humidifying it as it passes through. Foggers create an ultrafine fog that speeds the humidification without condensate. You can purchase units, or go to the hot links to learn how to make them for yourself.
Schedule an On-Farm Readiness Review
This free, voluntary, and confidential service is your next step towards FSMA Produce Safety Rule compliance
Many growers of fresh produce want to know how ready they are with regards to being FSMA Produce Safety Rule compliant. In an effort to get people ready for a full implementation of FSMA, MSU Extension and the Michigan On-Farm Produce Safety Team are providing FREE On-Farm Readiness Reviews to Michigan Produce Growers. 
Explore Your Farm's FSMA Status With MDARD
If you want to connect with a produce safety inspector at the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to learn more about how the FSMA Produce Safety Rule applies to your farm or your inspection status, please complete this MDARD Grower survey. A member of MDARD’s Produce Safety Team will contact you directly to verify your status based on the information you provide. Not only do you get to know your status, but MDARD will maintain this data to ensure that you receive relevant communication related to the Produce Safety Rule and Michigan’s Produce Safety Program. 
Michigan On-Farm Produce Safety Team
1715 Lansing Ave, Jackson, MI 49202 | MSU Extension MACD Produce Safety Technicians
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