Hygiene in Mushroom Cultivation

Anton S.M. Sonnenberg

Hygiene on Farms

„ Prevention
„ Clean Environment
„ Separate “Clean” and “Dirty” work
„ Good Instruction Personnel
Hygiene Rules around Mushroom Farms
„ Produce in a clean
environment
z Spent substrate is a source
of infection
z pent substrate as fertilizer in
soil? (Remove plastic)
z No fruit/vegetable garbage
around the farm
 Hygiene Rules around Mushroom Farms

„ Are the grounds regularly

cleaned and maintained so
they are free of tall grass
and weeds, litter, debris,
and trash?
„ Are the grounds well
drained so that standing
water cannot accumulate?

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Management on Farm

„ Separate Activities:
z Preparation of Spawn
z Preparation of Substrate
z Production of Mushrooms
„ Eliminate (restrict) movement of personnel and
equipments between these activities
„ One entrance into a growing room
z Keep entrance clean
z Use foot bath with disinfectants
Buildings and Farm Layout

•Location of raw materials

storage areas

•Substrate preparation

•Growing areas

•Traffic routes
Growing room

„ Clean floor
z Mats or (better) concrete floor
z Keep flies out (use nets)
z Use signal plates to monitor flies
Mushroom Production

„ If more than one growing house:

z Start each day always in cell with vegetative growth
z Go later to production room
• First to first flush
• Second to second flush
• Keep personnel for substrate preparation out
z Remove each day infected bags from production cell
z Remove remnants of fruit bodies from shelf and floor
• Put each item in plastic bags in growing room and discard bags
End of Production

„ Clean Production room well

„ Disinfect room after cleaning
„ Preferably no continuous production
z No new colonized substrate in producing room
Equipments/Tools

„ Clean and disinfect all equipments before use

z Disinfect after cleaning with formaldehyde (2%)
z Store equipments for harvesting separate from
equipments for other activities
„ Clean and disinfect all equipments after used
Personnel
„ Instruct Personnel well
„ Ideally, there should be two tea-room areas for staff
z one in each of the clean and dirty farm areas
„ Staff should also be restricted from entering any
"clean" areas if they have been working in the dirty
areas.
z In many cases, contamination within the growing areas
can be traced to staff movements.
Disinfectants

„ Formaldehyde (paraformaldehyde)
z 0.5-2.0 %
z Made from Stock Solutions (40%)
z Treatment of surfaces and air
„ Quaternary Ammonium
z Strong base
z Active ingredient should be sufficiently high
z Can be used in water treatment as microbiocides
(microbe killers) and surfactants
Chemicals for Flies

Time of application Active Compound Quantity Remarks

per 100 m2
Immediately after inoculation Diazone 200 g/200 ml) Atomize/Spray
Malathion 100 ml Atomize/Spray

During vegetative growth Diazone 200 g/200 ml) Atomize/Spray

Malathion 100 ml Atomize/Spray

After first fush Diazone 200 g/200 ml) Atomize/Spray

100 ml Atomize/Spray
After second flush Deltametrhin 30 ml Spray
3
50-100 liter/ 100 m
3 gram (3 ml) Spay
3
Permethrin smoke generator 1 liter/100 m
Dichlorvos 15-20 sec/4 ml Spray
3
2 liter/100 m
Chemicals for Green Molds

Time of application Active Compound Quantity Remarks

per 100 m2
After vegetative growth Benomyl 29 g (ml) Spray/not on mushrooms
Carbendazim 29 g (ml) Spray/not on mushrooms
Thiophanate-methyl 50 g Spray/not on mushrooms

After first fush Benomyl 29 g (ml) Spray/not on mushrooms

Carbendazim 29 g (ml) Spray/not on mushrooms
Thiophanate-methyl 50 g Spray/not on mushrooms
Mushroom Farm Food Safety and Security Self-
Assessment

„ Food Safety Plan Development

„ Safety of Water
„ Worker Hygiene And Practices To Prevent
Contamination Of Mushrooms
„ Product Security
„ Hand Washing and Toilet Facilities
„ Receiving and Storage of Raw Materials and
Compost
„ Field Sanitation
Mushroom Farm Food Safety and Security Self-
Assessment (cont.)

„ Field Packing and Protection of Harvested Mushrooms

„ Proper Labeling, Use, and Storage of Toxic Chemicals
„ Cleaning and Sanitizing of Food Contact and Indirect Contact
Surfaces
„ Pest Control
„ Trace-Back and Product Recall
„ Equipment Maintenance and Calibration
„ Employee Training
Key Elements Necessary to Produce Safe Mushrooms

„ A documented, verifiable food safety plan

„ Safe water
„ Field sanitation practices
„ Cleaning and sanitizing
„ Clean, sanitary, and adequately supplied toilet and
hand washing facilities
„ Workers who follow proper hygiene practices
including regular and frequent hand washing
Food safety plan

„ Does your farm have a written food safety plan in

place?
„ Are written records kept for all cleaning, sanitizing,
maintenance, pest control, and other activities
related to the food safety plan?
„ Are records readily available for inspection?
Grower Information and Food Safety Contacts

„ Name and address of grower

z Address
z Contact person
z Telephone, fax, email
„ Food safety team members
„ Contact information at each site
„ Corporate food safety contact
Facility Layout

•Location of raw materials

storage areas

•Substrate peparation

•Growing areas

•Traffic routes
Safe Water

„ Is potable water used for all operations where water

may contact mushrooms or food contact surfaces?
„ Is water used in growing areas regularly tested for
microbial and chemical contaminants?
Safe Water

„ Are wells regularly inspected and maintained to

prevent contamination form occurring?
Key Elements:

„ Field sanitation practices are in place to protect

mushrooms from contamination during growing,
harvesting, and transportation
Receiving and Storage of Raw
Materials and Compost
Harvesting containers and packaging materials

Protection from condensate, floor splash,

loose wall, or ceiling materials 25
 Field Sanitation
Layout and maintenance of grounds and building
exteriors
• Are equipment
and materials
properly stored
outdoors and
sufficiently far
away from
entrances so 20
that they do ft
not become a „ Equipment stored on the grounds
source of should be at least 20 feet from
pests? buildings and elevated at least 6 inches
above the ground. 26
„
 Field Sanitation
Layout and maintenance of grounds and building
exteriors
• Are building
foundations, walls,
and roofs in good
repair with no sign of
entry points for pests
or water?

3 ft

3-4 in

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 Field Packing and Protection of
Harvested Mushrooms
• Are harvest containers
(baskets, lugs, trays, and
boxes) prevented from
contacting the floor during
field packing?

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 Field Packing and Protection of
Harvested Mushrooms
• Are harvest containers
(baskets, lugs, trays, and
boxes) prevented from
contacting the floor during
field packing?

29
 Receiving and Storage of Raw
Materials and Compost
Harvesting containers and packaging materials
• Are food contact containers stored indoors on
pallets and protected from condensate, floor
splash, loose wall or ceiling materials,
machinery, etc?

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Cleaning and Sanitizing Technique
Remove debris → wet clean → rinse → sanitize

• Cleaning agents and physical

action (scrubbing) remove dirt
and biofilm material

•The dirt, biofilm material, and

the cleaning agent are rinsed off
leaving the bacteria exposed

•The sanitizer is then able to

penetrate and kill bacteria
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 Clean and Sanitary Food Contact
and Indirect Contact Surfaces
• Are cleaning and
sanitizing procedures
and frequencies for
cleaning documented?
Are floors, walls, trash
areas, fixtures,and
equipment regularly
cleaned?

32
 Clean and Sanitary Food Contact
and Indirect Contact Surfaces
• Are baskets, lugs,
trays, knives, etc.
cleaned and sanitized
before use?

33
 Master Cleaning Schedule

• Food contact
surfaces
• Grounds and
buildings
• Storage facilities
• Equipment
• Air handling
equipment

34
 Key Elements:
Toilet and hand washing facilities
are clean, sanitary, and
adequately supplied
 Hand Washing and Toilet Facilities

• Are toilet facilities well

ventilated, have self-
closing doors, have
clean running warm
water, and continuously
stocked with toilet paper,
hand soap, disposable
paper towels, and trash
receptacles?
36
 Toilet and hand washing facilities

• Are toilets cleaned

and sanitized each
day Are they
monitored daily to
make sure that they
function properly, are
clean, and are
properly supplied?

37
 Toilet and Hand washing Station
Inspection Checklist
• Floors, walls, stall dividers,
doors, fixtures clean and
sanitary
• Toilet functioning properly /
adequately supplied
• Handwashing station
functioning properly / supplied
with warm water, soap,
disposable towels
• Waste containers emptied
• Handwashing sign posted

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Key Elements:

„ Workers follow proper hygiene practices including

regular and frequent hand washing
 Worker Hygiene and Practices to
Prevent Contamination of Mushrooms
• Are harvesters trained to
wash their hands each time
they use the toilet, after
any absence from their
workstation for breaks or
lunch, or after handling
soiled materials?
Proper Handwashing
ƒ Reduces infection 35 to 50%
ƒ Reduces GI-illness up to 80%
 Proper Hand washing………

1. Wet hands with warm water (>

1100F)
2. Lather and rub using warm water
(20 sec)
3. Rinse
4. Dry with disposable paper towels
5. Avoid recontamination
 Worker Hygiene and Practices to
Prevent Contamination of Mushrooms
• Do harvesters wear
wear appropriate hair
restraints and clothing
that prevents
contamination of
exposed mushrooms?

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 Worker Hygiene and Practices to
Prevent Contamination of Mushrooms

• Are harvesters with

diarrheal illness, open
wounds, or skin infections
prohibited from handling
mushrooms?

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 Worker Hygiene and Practices to
Prevent Contamination of Mushrooms
Are jewelry and other personal items that can fall
into the product prohibited from production areas
or else covered effectively?

Watches

Rings
Bracelets Earrings
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 Worker Hygiene and Practices to
Prevent Contamination of Mushrooms
Are personal belongings and food items stored
in designated areas away from production
areas?
•

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