Peek into one of The FruitGuys’ facilities on a day when pre-cut produce arrives, and you’ll see our operations team in full secret service mode. A temperature-controlled truck pulls up to the loading dock, and they jump into the back to check the temperature of the truck and the sliced produce inside.
Then, they rush the produce directly into a cooler and secure the door behind them. You can almost imagine someone saying, “The Eagle has landed!” as they smack gloved hands in a high-five. But this isn’t actually a presidential handoff—it’s a win for food safety in schools.
Going Above and Beyond to Keep School Produce Safe
The FruitGuys Farm-to-School Program has delivered fresh, safe produce to schools since 2008. Keeping pre-cut fruits and vegetables refrigerated is a high priority because cold air slows the growth of pathogens. To maintain those low temps, we don’t take the produce out of the cooler: We go in.
“Some of our employees have ‘coolerwear’ to stay warm because they spend so much time in coolers doing quality checks. Everything that happens to that produce—tagging, quality checking, etc.—only happens in coolers,” explained Meta Dunn, a food safety consultant for The FruitGuys.*
How The FruitGuys Puts School Food Safety Into Action
The FruitGuys team always follows strict food safety guidelines to protect the students we serve. Here are a few of the key ways we keep your food safe:
- Independent Third-Party Audits: We’re audited at the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) level, which is recognized worldwide as the gold standard for food safety. Independent auditors from Primus GFSI visit our facilities regularly to make sure we’re following all of the food safety rules.
- Organic Certification: We’re a Certified Organic Food Handler through California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF), and follow their strict rules for packing and delivering organic produce.
- Supplier Verification: We make sure all of our farm and snack partners are also implementing food safety programs on their farms and in their facilities.
- Personal Protective Equipment (PPE): Our team dresses for food safety success with PPE like gloves, hairnets, and smocks.
- Temperature Control: We keep all of our cut and whole produce at appropriate temperatures, and make sure our drivers do the same with their refrigerated trucks.
- Sanitation: We keep our facilities clean, and when trucks arrive to transport produce, we check that they’re clean and sanitary.
- Monthly Food Safety Trainings: The FruitGuys team meets monthly for fresh training on food safety practices.
“The goal of The FruitGuys and of our Farm-to-School Program is to promote health and wellness. When we put into practice measures to keep our food system safe and keep every person we’re serving safe, then we can promote as much health and well-being as possible,” Meta said.
Expert Tips for Food Safety in School Cafeterias
The FruitGuys team puts food safety first in our facilities, and we’re always happy to help the schools we serve level up their programs by sharing tips, resources, and advice. When we asked Meta to share her top tips, she started by busting a myth about food safety in schools.
Busting a Food Safety Myth: The Four-Hour Window
You may have heard that sliced fruit and other cut produce can sit out at room temperature for up to four hours before it’s unsafe to eat. But actually, Meta says, that’s not true! How long fresh produce lasts depends on a lot of factors, including the temperature of the air and the amount of sugar and water in the produce.
Sweet and juicy fruits like melons, for example, go off more quickly than things like apples or zucchini. High temperatures also cause fruit to degrade faster. So, there’s no one-size-fits-all rule.
“The four-hour window is a misnomer. Instead of focusing on that, try to keep the time your produce spends outside of the 33-40°F range as close to zero as possible,” Meta recommended.
Here are a few more of Meta’s top tips for storing, handling, and serving fresh produce.
Tips for Storing Produce
Keep these things in mind when receiving and storing your produce deliveries.
- Keep It Cool: When your school receives pre-cut produce, refrigerate it immediately
- Skip the Floor: Avoid storing boxes of produce or loose produce directly on the ground; set them on pallets, shelves, or another elevated surface
- Avoid Extremes: Keep boxes of produce away from sources of extreme heat, extreme cold, or potential sources of contamination (ovens, trash cans, etc.)
Tips for Handling Produce
These reminders will help you cut and prepare produce safely.
- Suit Up: Always wear the appropriate PPE when handling fresh produce
- Sanitize Well: Wash your hands and sanitize your work area before cutting or handling produce
- Be Mindful of Your Clothes: Avoid wearing clothing that could contaminate produce (like false eyelashes, rhinestones, or nail polish) or carrying items in your chest pockets that could fall out when you lean forward
Tips for Serving Produce
When you’re ready to serve produce to students, remember this simple school food safety advice.
- Maximize Freshness: Keep cut produce in the fridge for as long as possible before serving
- Batch It Out: If you’re serving a lot of students, consider removing produce from the fridge in batches—set a new batch out when the first one is gone
- Level Up Your Setup: Serve cut produce chilled when you can, e.g., by placing an ice bath (a tray filled with ice) underneath the serving tray
More Food Safety Resources for School Staff
The FruitGuys is always standing by to support the districts we serve with school food safety guidance. Clients can download free Cafeteria Staff Flyers right now on our Client Portal, and if you have feedback, questions, or want to request a specific resource, contact our team today. We’re here to keep you and your students healthy, happy, and safe.
*Meta is a certified Preventive Controls Qualified Individual under the Food Safety Modernization Act and has also completed the Produce Safety Alliance training on regulatory requirements for growing fresh produce.