The Farm-to-Fork Journey: Keeping Produce Fresh and Safe to Eat

Abstract

Fruits and vegetables are nutritious and help you stay healthy. Yet, they might not be safe to eat right after you purchase them. The farm-to-fork journey includes all the stages your produce goes through, from growing the plants to being eaten in your home. It is important to maintain freshness of the fruits and vegetables and prevent microbial contamination of produce throughout the farm-to-fork journey. At home, you must follow the guidelines provided on the food’s packaging, or simply wash your fruits and vegetables well. In this article, we will walk you through five stages in the farm-to-fork journey: production, processing, distribution, retail, and consumer. We will also discuss where food can become contaminated. At the end of the article, we will give you some ideas of what you can do at home to prevent getting sick.