Safe Handling for Fresh Produce 

Now that you’ve grown it … Now what?  Is that squash big enough to pick?  I’m not supposed to put tomatoes in the refrigerator?  Why are these berries so mushy?  Do I need a pressure canner?  Just what do you do with all that produce?   

Chatham County Cooperative Extension will offer a program on harvesting and preserving fresh produce in the downstairs auditorium at the Agriculture Building in Pittsboro at 6:30 p.m. on June 24.   Participants are requested to call 919.542.8202 to pre-register for the class to guarantee a space. 

Extension Agents Al Cooke and Phyllis Smith will offer guidelines on selecting ripe produce, post-harvest handling, and safe processing for later use.  As a horticulturist, Cooke will focus on selecting produce for optimal maturity and reducing deterioration after produce is picked.  “Heat is your enemy,” he observes and will offer some strategies to deal with it.   

But Phyllis Smith, Registered Dietitian, also observes that “with canning, heat is your friend.”  She will focus on food safety in canning and freezing.  She has observed that “botulism is both natural and deadly” and has no place in a family diet.  She will discuss safe handling and processing as well as storage guidelines for foods that you will be “putting up.” 

With fresh picking, careful handling, and safe preserving the foods that you grow this summer may sustain you well into the winter. 

There is no charge for the program.  Participants are requested to call 919.542.8202 to pre-register for the class and guarantee a space.  

al cooke