There is an active group of industry growers, researchers, non-profits, buyers, food safety auditors/certifiers that comprise the Coalition of Food Safety & Sustainability. This group is grassroots, built from the ground up and regularly meets to address the interface between the practice of fresh produce food safety and agricultural sustainability practices. Our mission is to find ways to move this concept forward – optimizing outcomes for both food safety and sustainability. Why? We want to see agriculture thrive, sustainably producing crops and supporting the businesses that feed us. It’s the passion of all in the Coalition, and our efforts are focused on how we can merge sustainability and food safety goals, build community between sustainability-minded folks and food safety teams, and align market requirements to ultimately make sustainable safe food.  

There often is a perceived (and sometimes real) conflict between sustainability practices and food safety. In sustainability, we think a lot about organic inputs, feeding the soil, providing habitat for improved biodiversity, using compost, etc.  Some of these can seem like, or do, come with a level of food safety risk (think foodborne pathogens). But we produce crops in complex agricultural systems, and it’s not as simple as just eliminating or managing one component since it is only one piece in a broader ecosystem. For example, for years, one school of thought was to remove natural vegetation and habitat around the field to help ensure that wildlife isn’t close, or wandering into, our production fields. It’s a straightforward solution for the desired outcome – just remove where the animals could live, and they won’t be near the field anymore. The problem is that biological systems don’t work that straightforwardly. These animals won’t just disappear – they have to move somewhere for food, shelter and water. The nearest source of that food and water might just be a grower’s field. In this example, the desire for safety led to the opposite and least desired outcome, and the instability shifted towards increased food safety risk and not away. 

In complex systems like an agricultural field, growers make many choices about their crops, their environment and their agronomic practices. It is both a practice and a science of finding balance, studying the overall system, and finding stability in a highly complex agricultural system in order to optimize all outcomes.  

Can practices like compost use, increased habitat, cover-cropping, etc. be used without increasing the risk of a food safety event? Of course – in fact, they often need to be used to address the sustainability of our fields for years to come.  Managing the potential food safety risks with any practice (including sustainable ones) is possible, and as with all practices (sustainable or not), it just requires diligence, thought and planning. 

Join the Coalition 

The Coalition of Food Safety & Sustainability brings together individuals and organizations passionate about making this integration real. Our work focuses on: 

• Spreading awareness and reframing the dialogue around sustainability and food safety. 

• Building community between sustainability practitioners and food safety professionals. 

• Advancing science to understand and mitigate potential risks associated with sustainable practices. 

• Aligning market and audit requirements so that sustainability and safety goals reinforce, rather than compete with, one another. 

If you care about the future of safe, sustainable agriculture — join us.