Prepping for Winter Cold Storage

Cold Storage:

Effective cold storage management can prolong the shelf life of your produce, help reduce food waste, and extend your market season. It can also attract pests, accrue costly maintenance, and be a nesting ground for pathogens to spread. To best achieve success in cold storage, there is some basic preparation, management, and record-keeping needed.  Read along to ensure good cold storage practices that can help to prolong the shelf life of your produce.

Cleaning and Sanitizing: 

One of the most important steps in cold storage is cleaning and sanitizing your cold storage facility and equipment. What you do in preparation for cold storage can dictate the success of your storage for the season. A deep clean is needed before utilizing the space. It's important to consider the type of cold storage you have before following these recommendations; some cold storage, such as those with foam walls, will require a more delicate cleaning method.§ 112.126 of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Produce Safety Rule states what requirements apply to buildings regarding cleanliness, drainage, and reducing risk for contamination.

Deep Cleaning Includes:

• Emptying the room

• Removing large debris

• Rinse Surfaces

• Clean floors, walls, and shelving with soap and water or other adequate process (cleaning is required to remove debris)

• Rinse off debris

• Sanitize (follow manufacturer's label when mixing and applying to food contact surfaces)

• Dry according to sanitizer label

For additional information to guide your cleaning efforts, please refer to these documents:

• Document: “Cleaning vs. Sanitizing” by Produce Safety Alliance

• Document: “Introduction to Selecting an EPA-Labeled Sanitizer” by Produce Safety Alliance

• Document: “Farm-Cooler Checklist” by University of Vermont Extension

Maintenance:

After appropriate cleanup, the next step is maintenance of equipment and the space. Start with a structural inspection. Are seals working efficiently? Is the space properly insulated? Is water coming in? Check your refrigeration equipment, whether it be a cool-bot, walk-in cooler, or fans. Clean and sanitize vents and blades. Check compressors, coolant levels, and defrost cycles. If using alert tags for temperature and humidity, now is the time to test these systems.

Temperature and humidity play a huge role in the longevity of your storage crops. Below is a recommendation guide for storage by CCE Cornell Vegetable Program. § 112.124 of the Produce Safety Rule dictates that equipment used to measure, regulate, or record temperatures must be accurate and adequately maintained

• Recommended temperature and humidity chart: "Cold Storage Chart & Reference Guide" by  CCE Cornell Vegetable Program

  
  

Monitoring and Record Keeping:

Monitoring logs and good records can help you gauge efficiency, produce age, and ensure there are not any breaks in the cold chain. These logs can help you make informed decisions on product type and variety for future growing years based on longevity of storage.

• Cleaning and sanitized records that are  required by FSMA § 112.140(b)(2) include:

Equipment, Tools, Buildings, and Sanitation  "Records Required by the FSMA Produce Safety Rule" Templates by The Produce Safety Alliance" 

• Optional but recommended to keep are Logs for Temperature and Humidity levels

• Optional but recommended to keep are Logs with documented corrective action procedures and logs of  temperature deviations

These procedures can help ensure safe and successful cold storage of winter crops. While helping to lengthen the shelf life of your product. It is important to visually inspect your crops throughout the winter to monitor for contamination, pests, molds, and rot. When handling covered crops, do so in a way that minimizes the potential for contamination of produce or food contact surfaces with known or reasonably foreseeable hazards.

For additional questions in navigating produce safety, reach out to your local Produce Safety Technician. Produce Safety Technicians offer on-farm technical education for fresh produce growers. Technicians offer free, voluntary, confidential, nonregulatory resources.

Information on the Michigan on-farm Produce Safety Team can be found at https://www.miofps.org/