Safe picking continues to be a priority for California Strawberry Farmers

“I Pick Safety. For Me. For All.” This is the new motto of US California strawberry farmers and farm workers. The words describe a culture that emphasizes the role of each person in protecting the families - from harvest workers who pick the berries, to every strawberry consumer.

Strawberry farmers in California have been recognized as one of the leaders in food safety for many years, working in accordance with the country's most stringent standards of sanitation and worker safety. Due to COVID-19 more ways to ensure the safety and health of workers were introduced based on recommendations from government and medical experts.

To strengthen safety measures farms have received informative materials, highlighting the Centers for Disease Control guidance with steps to take to create a safer work environment and protect each other through daily activities.

Supervisors and managers are introducing changes to the crew and schedule for social distancing during harvest, increasing the amount of handwashing and hand sanitizing stations available in the field, sanitizing field facilities.

In addition, field supervisors and strawberry farmers have been informed how to identify workers who may have symptoms of the illness and to help them isolate the individual to avoid spreading the virus to others.

Built on already stringent standards, California strawberries are picked and packed in the field by harvest workers with clean hands. Then the packed berries are immediately loaded onto the truck to the cooler before they are shipped to stores across the country. Thereby delicious and wholesome strawberries will remain available for families to enjoy.

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