Food Safety Guide

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SIMPLE GUIDE 05

Food Safety Guide

This Food Safety Guide helps GrowHive growers understand the basic checks for keeping fresh local produce safe, suitable and accurately described when selling online.

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QUICK ANSWER

Food Safety Guide: only sell suitable produce

Whether you are selling a few surplus tomatoes or operating a regular growing business, this Food Safety Guide starts with one principle: produce offered for sale should be safe, accurately described and suitable for its intended use.

Do not knowingly list food that is rotten, badly contaminated, seriously damaged or otherwise unsafe or unfit to eat.

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THE SIMPLE RULE

If you wouldn't be happy receiving it, don't sell it

Check produce before it is listed, again when it is harvested or packed and before it is handed to the customer or sent for delivery.

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CHECK THE PRODUCE

Is it fit for sale?

Fresh produce marketing standards apply to many fruit, vegetables, herbs, nuts and cultivated mushrooms.

For most fresh produce, the basic idea is straightforward: it should be in an acceptable condition when offered for sale.

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Sound and not rotten.

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Reasonably clean.

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Free from serious pest damage.

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Not badly bruised or severely damaged.

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Appropriately developed or ripe.

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Free from unusual smells or contamination.

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DON'T LIST IT

Remove produce that is no longer suitable

✕ Rotten or mouldy produce
✕ Seriously damaged produce
✕ Produce contaminated by chemicals
✕ Produce contaminated by animal waste
✕ Produce affected by serious pest damage
✕ Food you believe may be unsafe
02
HARVESTING & HANDLING

Keep things clean

Good hygiene helps prevent contamination between the growing area and the customer.

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Clean hands

Wash hands appropriately before handling produce, particularly after anything that could contaminate them.

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Clean containers

Use boxes, baskets and containers that are suitable and reasonably clean.

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Clean equipment

Knives, cutters, tables and other equipment used with food should be kept appropriately clean.

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Protect from contamination

Keep harvested produce away from waste, chemicals and other obvious contamination risks.

WATER & WASHING

Don't introduce contamination while cleaning produce

Water used in growing, harvesting or washing can be a source of contamination if it is unsuitable for the way it is being used.

Regular growers should assess the water practices relevant to their operation and follow any food-safety requirements that apply.

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STORAGE

Look after produce after harvest

Produce can deteriorate after it has been picked. Store it in a way that protects its condition until it reaches the customer.

01 Keep storage areas suitable

Avoid storing food alongside chemicals, waste, fuel or other sources of contamination.

02 Protect from pests

Take reasonable steps to prevent rodents, insects and other pests contaminating stored produce.

03 Check condition regularly

Remove produce that deteriorates and is no longer fit for sale.

04 Follow temperature needs

Where a particular product needs temperature control, make sure suitable conditions are maintained.

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COLLECTION & DELIVERY

Keep it safe on the way to the customer

Food sold online still needs to reach the customer without becoming unsafe or unfit to eat.

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Use clean and suitable packaging or containers.

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Protect produce from contamination during transport.

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Pack produce so that unnecessary crushing or damage is reduced.

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Consider weather and temperature where these could affect food safety.

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Do not send food that has already deteriorated beyond an acceptable condition.

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Make collection instructions clear where appropriate.

SELLING ONLINE

Customers need the right information before buying

Fresh produce sold through an online marketplace must provide customers with the applicable product information before the purchase is made.

GrowHive will collect the important information in the product listing so customers can make an informed choice.

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PRODUCT INFORMATION

Country of origin matters

Fresh fruit and vegetable marketing standards include country-of-origin information.

Where origin information is required, the country should be stated accurately and in the required format.

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GOOD Country of origin: United Kingdom
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DON'T RELY ON A flag on its own
GrowHive product form

We will make country of origin part of the product information so growers do not have to remember it separately.

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SOME PRODUCE HAS EXTRA RULES

Certain fruit and vegetables have specific standards

In Great Britain, ten fresh produce groups are covered by more detailed Specific Marketing Standards.

🍎 Apples
🍐 Pears
🍓 Strawberries
🍅 Tomatoes
ðŸĨŽ Lettuces
ðŸŦ‘ Sweet peppers
🍇 Table grapes
ðŸĨ Kiwi fruit
🍊 Citrus fruit
🍑 Peaches & nectarines
What does that mean?

These products can have additional requirements about quality class, labelling, variety, size or other product information.

Growers who regularly sell these products should check the current marketing standard that applies to them.

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CHOPPED, PREPARED OR PROCESSED FOOD

Extra rules can apply when you do more than grow it

This GrowHive guide is mainly about straightforward fresh produce.

If you start cutting, preparing, cooking, preserving, pickling, juicing, baking, combining ingredients or manufacturing food, additional hygiene, labelling, allergen and food-safety requirements can apply.

Don't assume the rules for a whole tomato are the same as the rules for tomato sauce, chutney or prepared salad.
REGULAR SELLERS

Food businesses have wider food-safety responsibilities

If you operate as a regular food business, food law can cover areas including hygiene, record keeping, traceability, withdrawals, recalls and food-safety management.

Your local authority can explain the requirements that apply to your particular growing operation.

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SOMETHING HAS GONE WRONG

If you think food may be unsafe, act quickly

Do not continue selling food if you believe there may be a safety problem.

1 Stop selling the affected produce.
2 Remove or pause the GrowHive listing.
3 Identify what produce may be affected.
4 Contact GrowHive if customers may be affected.
5 Regular food businesses should follow applicable withdrawal, recall and reporting requirements.
ON GROWHIVE

Growers are responsible for the food they list

GrowHive provides the marketplace and simple guidance, but each grower remains responsible for making sure their produce is suitable for sale and that their product information is accurate.

✓ I will only list produce that I believe is safe and suitable for sale.
✓ I will describe my produce accurately.
✓ I will provide accurate country-of-origin information where required.
✓ I will use reasonable hygiene when harvesting, handling and packing produce.
✓ I will not knowingly supply contaminated, rotten or unsafe food.
✓ I will follow any additional food-safety requirements that apply to my particular activity.
KEEP IT SIMPLE

Fresh, safe, accurately described

For most GrowHive growers selling straightforward fresh produce, those three ideas are the best place to start. More detailed requirements may apply as the type or scale of a food business changes.

OFFICIAL GUIDANCE

Check the rules that apply to you

Food and fresh-produce requirements differ in some details between England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Regular growers should check the current guidance for where they operate.

Food Standards Agency – Food Hygiene ↗ Fresh Produce Standards ↗ Scotland – Small Producers ↗ Northern Ireland – Marketing Standards ↗
About this guidance

This Food Safety Guide provides general GrowHive guidance and is not a complete statement of food law. Growers remain responsible for complying with the food-safety, hygiene, fresh-produce, labelling and other requirements that apply to their particular products and activity. Contact your local authority or relevant regulator if you are unsure.