BerrySmart
Food Safety

BerrySmart Food Safety promotes blueberry industry-standard food safety practices.

Food safety is a shared priority across the blueberry industry. This resource center provides growers, handlers and industry partners with easy access to tools, guidance and educational materials on key food safety topics, including agricultural water, sanitation, worker hygiene, traceability, audits and regulations.

Use the search bar or browse by topic to find resources that support safe, practical and responsible food safety practices.

PATHOGENS 101 Bacteria Parasites Virus PERSONAL HYGIENE AGRICULTURAL WATER PESTICIDES PROCESS CONTROLS
SANITATION Basics of sanitation In field/Harvesting Packing TESTING TRACEABILITY ROOT CAUSE ANALYSIS RECALLS & OUTBREAKS
REGULATIONS & REGULATORY GENERAL RESOURCES GAPS / AUDITS USDA GRADE STANDARDS
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Bacteria

Research publication that indicates that E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella do not grow on strawberries at shipping or retail display temperatures, even when they are harvested at a maturity prone to bruising; however, Salmonella growth may occur on bruised full ripe blueberries under retail display temperatures.

Salmonella

Overview of Salmonella including information on organism, symptoms, prevention, reports, Q&A, etc.

CDC’s Salmonella Page

Pathogenic E. coli

Overview of E. coli including information on organism, symptoms, prevention, surveillance, reports, and kinds of E. coli – pathotypes (STEC/EHEC, ETEC), etc.).

CDC’s E. coli Page

Listeria

Overview of Listeria including information on organism, symptoms, prevention, surveillance, reports, people at risk, whole genome sequencing, etc.

CDC’s Listeria Page

The Listeria Control Program is a holistic approach encompassing seven core areas of hygienic design, sanitation controls, environmental monitoring, process validation, hygienic zoning, freezer management and good manufacturing practices.

Listeria Control Program