Did you know there are roughly 141 farmers markets in
Maryland? If you are not sure where to find your local farmers market and
information on benefits accepted, the 2016/2017
Maryland Farmers Market Directory is your guide to local produce.
Farmers markets are a great place to talk to the people who
grow your food, and learn about how your fruits and vegetables are grown.
Once we are at the market, it becomes our job to safely handle food while
purchasing, transporting, and preparing at home.
It is important that everyone going to the farmers’ market
plays a role to keep it clean. A study from University of Maryland shows
that people value the cleanliness of a farmers market. One way to keep
the market clean and lower the number of germs being spread is to leave your
pets at home. Pets, such as dogs, snakes, and cats, can carry germs and
bacteria that can make our family and our neighbors sick. This is similar
to why we cannot bring our pets inside to our local grocery store when food
shopping.
How often will you touch produce at your grocery store or
farmers market to make sure it is ripe to buy? How many other people do
you think do the same thing? That means many hands, clean, dirty, and germy,
may have touched the produce you just bought. We recommend that you wash
your produce under safe drinkable (potable) water right before eating.
That means you should not bite into that peach or tomato you just bought
while at the farmers market. To be safe, wash your produce whether you
purchase it at a farmers market, grocery store…or anywhere.
To keep clean and safe we recommend that you use shopping
bags for different food groups. One bag for produce, another bag for
eggs, and another bag for meat...nobody wants meat juice to get on fruit or
vegetables that you could eat uncooked. Lastly, do not forget to wash
reusable bags regularly.
Four tips to keep your farm-fresh food flavorful and safe:
- Leave your pets at home.
- Remember to wash produce under safe-drinkable water before eating, no matter where you buy produce.
- Use different bags to carry different food groups home. This is known as preventing cross contamination.
- Wash reusable bags often.
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