Visitor Food Safety Policies for a Successful Pick-Your-Own Season
Elisabeth Hodgdon, Vegetable Specialist
Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture
With pick-your-own (PYO) apple season upon us, customers are eager to get outdoors and enjoy the fall season and orchard scenery. Welcoming visitors to the orchard requires many advanced preparations to ensure a positive experience for both customers and employees. Food safety considerations should be included in these preparations as well. In this article, I review visitor requirements for farms covered by the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Produce Safety Rule, as well as best management practices to reduce microbial contamination in PYO orchards.
Visitor Food Safety Policies for a Successful Pick-Your-Own Season (pdf; 277KB)
Apples
Apricots
Asparagus
Beets
Blueberries
Broccoli
Brussels Sprouts
Cabbage
Carrots
Cauliflower
Cherries
Cucumbers
Dry Beans
Eggplant
Ethnic Vegetables
Garlic
Grapes
Horseradish
Kohlrabi
Leeks
Lettuce / Leafy Greens
Melons
Nectarines
Onions
Parsnips
Peaches
Pears
Peas
Peppers
Plums
Potatoes
Pumpkins / Gourds
Radishes
Raspberries / Blackberries
Rhubarb
Rutabaga
Snap Beans
Squash - Summer
Squash- Winter
Strawberries
Sweet Corn
Sweet Potatoes
Tomatoes
Turnips
Upcoming Events
Workshop: Controlling Listeria in Apple Packinghouses
June 26, 2025 : Workshop: Controlling Listeria in Apple Packinghouses
Highland, NY
Join Cornell University Food Science experts, along with CCE ENYCHP specialists Dan Donahue and Elisabeth Hodgdon for a day-long intensive workshop on managing Listeria in apple packinghouse environments.
2025 Berry Twilight Meetings
July 2, 2025 : Berry Twilight Meeting at Dressel Farms
New Paltz, NY
Join Heather Kase, CCE ENYCHP, and Anna Wallis, Cornell IPM, for seasonal updates on berry pest man-agement and IPM.
July 16, 2025 : Berry Twilight Meeting at Samascott Orchards
Kinderhook, NY
Join Heather Kase, CCE ENYCHP, and Anna Wallis, Cornell IPM, for seasonal updates on berry pest man-agement and IPM.
August 6, 2025 : Berry Twilight Meeting at Fishkill Farms
Hopewell Junction, NY
Join Heather Kase, CCE ENYCHP, and Anna Wallis, Cornell IPM, for seasonal updates on berry pest man-agement and IPM.
Vegetable Field Meetings with Dr. Steve Reiners
July 14, 2025 : Herkimer County - Ivan Martin's Farm
Herkimer, NY
Topics: Tomato Fertility and Mitigating Physiological Disorders; Pest Scouting, ID, and IPM Field Walk.
July 15, 2025 : Washington County - Hand Melon Farm
Greenwich, NY
Topics: Tomato Fertility and Mitigating Physiological Disorders, Tomato and Sweet Corn IPM; FSMA Water Assessments and Postharvest Sanitation
July 16, 2025 : Ulster County - Wallkill View Farm
New Paultz, NY
Topics: Tomato Fertility and Mitigating Physiological Disorders; Veg Pest Update and Management; Cornell Tomato Breeding Program and Slicer Tomato Variety Trial Tour