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THE FOOD TRUST’S FARMERS MARKETS FOOD SAFETY GUIDELINES AND REGULATIONS

Review this manual carefully. We recommend you keep a copy with you at market for reference.

GENERAL RULES

Vendors are only permitted to sell what they produce (grow, harvest, raise, and/or process).

Buying in/Reselling: Buying in is not permitted unless The Food Trust determines that the resold items will fill a gap in the market. The Food Trust will grant individual vendors permission to resell items. These items must be labeled with the farm, town, or county of origin, relevant production methods, and should be clearly distinct from goods sold from your farm. If you do not receive approval to sell a product you did not produce, the market manager will ask you to remove it from your sales area.

Product ingredients: When possible, all prepared food should be made from local, seasonal ingredients. Priority for placement at any market is given to vendors who source product ingredients locally.

No false or misleading statements or designation of quality, grade, trademarks, or trade names. If your farm is certified organic, you must supply documentation from the certifying organization. If your farm is not certified organic, you must refrain from using the word “organic” to describe your business or products.

PRODUCT LABELING

In accordance with the Philadelphia Department of Health, all products sold at a market must make the following information available for customers by posting a label on the product or a placard at their market stall, next to the product stating:

Vendor name

Name of city and state where item was produced

Product name

Ingredient statement in descending order of predominance

Net weight of product

Inspection seal (provided by USDA for USDA products only)

All labels must be legible.

FOOD STORAGE AT MARKET

All storage containers must be clean and stored a minimum of 6” off the ground, and must not be stored directly on the ground. Consider bringing an extra pallet to observe this rule. The only exception is ice chests, which can be placed directly on the ground. Ice chests should not be placed on tables that will hold food for concerns of cross-contamination.

Raw produce must be stored in clean containers and bins to prevent contamination. Storage containers must be clean and free from foreign objects, insect and rodent debris, and any form of dirt or filth. Damaged containers that cannot be properly cleaned must be discarded.

PERMITS & LICENSES

Copies of all relevant permits and license must be included with the 2017 Farmers Market application. Proper permits are required to vend at all of our Farmers Market locations. Please refer to the Vendor Requirements Checklist in the Farmers Market Vendor Application document.

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FOOD HANDLING

All vendors must comply with the following food handling regulations:

All equipment, including those used to harvest and store, must be cleaned free of dirt, decaying food, sticks and stones before each use.

All products must be displayed and stored at a market under the same conditions as they are stored at the site of production and during transportation. All vendors must follow the rules in accordance with the Philadelphia Department of Health.

Food packagers, handlers, and market employees must wash, sanitize (with soap) and dry their hands at the following times as needed:

After eating and smoking;

After use of the toilet;

After coughing or sneezing;

After handling any product that can contaminate their hands;

After touching the nose, mouth, ears or hair.

Fingernails must be short and clean.

No food should be packaged by anyone who is seriously ill.

No eating or drinking food while packaging or preparing food for storage.

No smoking while processing or preparing foods for storage or within the boundaries of the market.

SAMPLING

Sampling at market is a privilege, not a right. Vendors will only be granted permission to sample when they demonstrate that they are complying with all sampling and hand washing station guidelines (see p. 3).

Please note: No cutting of tomatoes or melons of any kind is permitted on‐site.

Processed foods including bakery items, breads, crackers, jams, jellies: The best practice is to prepare samples at a licensed facility prior to arriving at the market. For example, a vendor that operates a licensed bakery can cut baked goods into pieces at that bakery, place them on a tray, insert a toothpick in each piece, and keep the tray covered with a glass or plastic dome.

Potentially hazardous foods including whole shell eggs, meat, dairy, cheese and some pre‐ packaged products such as tofu‐soy are permissible only if they are pre‐cut at a licensed facility. They cannot be cut on‐site. All pre‐cut samples must be stored in cleaned and sanitized food grade containers. Foods that require refrigeration must be kept below 41 degrees F at all times.

Canned items (e.g. jelly and salsa) may be opened one jar at a time and supplied with a disposable utensil for customers to use. Temperature control must be maintained for items needing refrigeration after opening. Home‐canned and home‐prepared foods are not allowed.

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HAND WASHING STATION GUIDELINES

Hand washing stations must be provided by every vendor stand that requires one. A proper hand washing station will include the following:

Insulated container with a spigot that can stay open (no push buttons) and dispense warm water

between 100° –120° F.

Soap

Paper towels

Container to catch/collect waste water.

A diagram for the construction of a hand-washing device is at the end of this document.

GUIDELINES FOR BAKED GOODS

Proof of required permits and certification must be provided to The Food Trust. All products must be made in an inspected, licensed commercial kitchen.

No products may contain artificial trans fats (shortening), MSG, artificial colors/flavors or high fructose corn syrup.

All products must be displayed and stored at a market under the same conditions as they are stored at the site of production and during transportation in accordance with the Philadelphia Department of Public Health.

All samples must be prepared prior to arrival at the market. See sampling guidelines on page 2.

All bakery items must be protected from possible contamination. If items are not pre-wrapped, they must be displayed behind a sneeze guard to protect the food from potential contamination. Vendors must wear protective gloves or use disposable paper when handling unwrapped bakery items. No customers are allowed to touch unwrapped products prior to point of sale.

Refrigerated or frozen baked goods: See Frozen Foods, Refrigeration & Ice on page 4.

GUIDELINES FOR DAIRY AND CHEESE

Fluid milk and fresh dairy products: All fluid milk and dairy vendors must be registered with the state Department of Agriculture and are subject to state inspection requirements. All dairy products must be stored under refrigeration (40F or below). Approved forms of refrigerated storage for fresh dairy products are battery operated coolers, refrigerated trucks, or coolers with proper temperature display of 40F or below. The unit of sale will be by volume. The label must follow the state labeling guidelines.

Fresh dairy products include milk, flavored milk, buttermilk, cream, crème fraiche, yogurt, ricotta, fromage blanc, cottage cheese, fresh mozzarella and butter.

Raw milk can be sold off farm with proper permits and a mechanical filler and capper.

Raw milk products, except for cheese aged more than 60 days with permit, are prohibited.

Hard cheeses (Parmesan, Romano, Cheddar, Colby, Hard Swiss) also needs to be refrigerated as per inspection guidelines.

Information on refrigeration pertaining to dairy products: See Frozen Foods, Refrigeration & Ice on page 4.

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GUIDELINES FOR MEAT AND EGGS

All fresh poultry and eggs must be refrigerated at a temperature of 40F and below. Frozen meats must remain frozen at 32F and below.

Eggs must be wiped to remove visible dirt and refrigerated from the time of gathering to the time of sale. To sell ungraded eggs in the State of Pennsylvania, an egg producer must have fewer than 3,200 laying hens, sell eggs within five days from the date of lay, and sell eggs predominately within a 100-mile radius of their production or processing facility. Each carton, flat, or container of eggs must be labeled “Unclassified” with the producers name, address, date of lay, statement of identity (eggs), net contents and “Keep Refrigerated”. If recycled packages are used, the any previous labels must not be visible. Please remove dirty, leaking, and cracked eggs prior to sale.

All poultry sold must be raised by the approved vendor, regardless of inspector status. Whole chickens can be sold either fresh or frozen. They must be pre-wrapped and weighed at the point of processing. The unit of sale will be the whole bird by weight. The label must contain the net weight of the chicken, the vendor name and address and refer to PA public laws. Please refer to Appendix 3 for federal public laws that would refer to your farm.

Beef, lamb, mutton, goat, and pork all must be federally inspected and vendors are subject to USDA inspection requirements. All legal cuts of the above mentioned meats are allowed to be sold frozen. They must be pre-proportioned, pre-wrapped and weighted at point of processing. The unit of sale will be the prepackaged cut or portion of meat. All meats are subject to the federal USDA grade and inspection. The outer packaging must follow federal labeling guidelines.

Cured sausage and meats: All cured sausage and meats are allowed to be sold fresh or frozen. They must be pre-proportioned, pre-wrapped and weighted at point of processing. The outer packaging must follow federal labeling guidelines.

Refrigeration and Frozen Meats: See Frozen Foods, Refrigeration & Ice (below).

GUIDELINES FOR SEAFOOD

Fresh seafood operations: Vendors that sell seafood not consumed at market must be licensed by their local entity and be HACCP certified.

Vendors that sell seafood that is consumed at market must be licensed to by their local entity, be HACCP certified and have a Permanent Special Events license from the Philadelphia Department of Public Health.

Frozen seafood operations: If within Philadelphia city limits, operators must comply with Philadelphia Department of Public Health regulations, but do not need special permits to attend the farmers markets.

Aquaponic operations must be licensed by the local Animal Health Bureau. The fish must be processed at a licensed and HACCP certified processor and stored at a licensed location.

FROZEN FOODS, REFRIGERATION & ICE

All “potentially hazardous/temperature sensitive products” brought to market, such as meat and dairy products, must be stored, transported and displayed at appropriate temperatures.

Frozen food must remain frozen during market hours. Products must not thaw at any time. A sample of the product can be displayed in the market stall for customer inspection but cannot be sold if it has risen above 32 degrees F. (continues)

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(continued from p. 4) Products requiring refrigeration (dairy products, fresh poultry, eggs, fresh juices, cider, filled or topped baked goods) must be transported in a refrigerated unit, cooler or plastic lined cardboard box. The unit, cooler or box must maintain a refrigerated temperature (40 degrees F or below) during the entire market. It must contain crushed ice or cold gel packs (blue ice), which is available at restaurant supply stores or online.

All coolers, ice chests and refrigerated storage units used to hold refrigerated or frozen products must be equipped with a thermometer. The thermometer must be suitable to measure cold temperature (Range 0 degrees F- 60 degrees F) and must be secured to the storage unit so that the thermometer is measuring the ambient temperature inside the unit.

If ice is used as a coolant, it must be manufactured from potable water. The name and address of manufacturer must appear on the ice bag. Ice melt water must be continuously drained away from the product in a separate container. Block ice may not be used.

Vendors using ice in their displays or in storage coolers must dispose of ice and melted ice at their production site, not at the market. Use reusable ice packs to avoid this problem.

ALCOHOL

The Food Trust does allow locally-produced alcoholic products at market, with preference given to those that use ingredients grown locally by the producer, on a case-by-case basis. Email Lisa Kelly at lkelly@thefoodtrust.org for more information.

MOBILE FOOD VENDORS, FOOD TRUCKS AND FOOD CARTS

Mobile food vendors must provide additional documentation to The Food Trust to be considered for a space at a farmers market. Contact Lisa Kelly at lkelly@thefoodtrust.org for more information.

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Appendix 1:

Handwashing Mechanism Suitable

for Outdoor Farmers Markets

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Appendix 2: Poultry Exemptions Under the PPIA