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Hydroponics and Food Safety
47 Plays3 years ago
This episode features Gianna Costa, Food Safety Quality and Assurance Manager for Square Roots indoor farm, and Phil Tocco, a statewide Produce Safety Educator with Michigan State University Extension. They talk about how Square Roots works as an indoor growing operation, how they mitigate food safety hazards, and how they build a culture of food safety.
Square Roots website: https://www.squarerootsgrow.com/
SQR Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/squarerootsgrow/?hl=en
SQR Twitter: https://twitter.com/squarerootsgrow
SQR LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/square-roots-urban-growers/
Funding for this podcast was made possible in part by the Food and Drug Administration through grant PAR-16-137. The views expressed in the posted materials do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the Department of Health and Human Services, nor does any mention of trade names, commercial practices or organization imply endorsement by the United States Government.
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Transcript
Introduction to Produce Bites Podcast
00:00:00
Speaker
Hello and welcome to the Agri-Food Safety Produce Bites Podcast, where we discuss all things produce safety and dive into the rules and regulations surrounding the Food Safety Modernization Act Produce Safety Rule. I am Gianna Costa. I am the food safety and quality assurance manager here at Square Roots. I'm Phil Tocco. I'm with Michigan State University Extension. I do produce safety across the state of Michigan.
Gianna Costa's Journey to Agriculture
00:00:28
Speaker
So Gianna, I'm curious about sort of your background. I mean, you mentioned you grew up in Long Island and here's this city person who decides to get into agriculture. And I'm curious to hear sort of what led you to square roots in the first place. Yes. So yes, I grew up in Long Island. I have lived in Queens for about nine years now.
00:00:55
Speaker
Um, really growing up, I've always admired the food industry. I always loved restaurants. My family always cooked all the time. Um, but my first job when I was 14 was an Italian family style restaurant. Um, then from there, I always worked in restaurants, whether that was
00:01:15
Speaker
a server or helped out with the front of the house in one way or the other. And then after college, I landed a restaurant management position within a hotel in Long Island. And that kind of just jump started my career in the restaurant industry, which then led me to moving over to the catering side of things and working with private events. But through that time, it was
00:01:44
Speaker
Quite a grind, right? Everyone in the restaurant industry knows that you really do sacrifice a lot. You work really hard, but you enjoy it. The rewards are fantastic. But I realized that it was a time that I needed to kind of just re-evaluate. So I had a bit of a gap during that time, and I wanted to reflect and think about refocusing my career. But staying within food, that was very important for me.
00:02:08
Speaker
And I saw a few years before that, when I was still in the hotel, I saw this schematic. It was so futuristic. It was of a New York City skyscraper that, you know, every level turned to capture the sun and it was an indoor farm and it, you know, really captured how or what our future might look like when it comes to growing food.
00:02:34
Speaker
And I just couldn't get that out of my head. So I took it upon myself to really learn what it meant to grow indoors, what the different growing styles were. I took a few courses on my own and then, you know, I had to get my foot in the door. I had no agriculture experience.
00:02:52
Speaker
So Square Roots at the time offered a year apprenticeship where you could kind of learn for a full year. And then from there I actually was promoted to a senior apprentice grower who would train the next incoming cohort. And from there then an assistant farm manager.
00:03:14
Speaker
And then, you know, I saw an opportunity within the company where we needed to, you know, really bring our food safety up to the next level. And I had experience working in the restaurants. So I made this position and asked the company if they would trust me to lead it. And they did. And so now I started at Square Roots in 2019. And now I am the food safety quality assurance manager for the company.
00:03:44
Speaker
I have to say that some of the best food safety folks in agriculture that I've known have come from the restaurant industry. You have a keen sense from restaurant, a keen sense that what you're growing and what you're preparing is food. And it doesn't get mistaken for anything else, which tends to bring a level of care and a level of food safety culture. So I'm curious,
What is Controlled Environmental Agriculture?
00:04:13
Speaker
What is controlled agriculture for those folks? Some folks that might be listening may not have a real good sense of what indoor growing is. And I'm curious if you could explain a little bit about what happens at Square Roots in terms of how do you grow stuff?
00:04:29
Speaker
Definitely. So you may hear the acronym CEA a lot that's controlled environmental agriculture, or we like to say just indoor ag. So that's essentially when you control the environment in which you grow. This doesn't mean you have to control every aspect of the environment. You could think of a greenhouse. The greenhouse is controlled, but it also utilizes natural light.
00:04:54
Speaker
For square roots, that is quite different. We control every aspect of our growing facility and of our farms. So our farm is actually made up of a bunch of smaller farms, which we call modular grow zones.
00:05:12
Speaker
And within those grow zones, we control our light source. So we use high efficiency LEDs. We have injection systems for our fertilizers. We rely on our HVAC systems to control our humidity, our temperature, and really help control the climate.
00:05:30
Speaker
And so these metrics within those grow zones are monitored daily. We have a proprietary software system called the 12L, which every farmer and farm management team and really everyone within the company has access to. And we monitor all of these metrics essentially every second of every day. And then from that information, we take that and the operators have the ability to
00:05:56
Speaker
you know, understand how the farm's working, making sure we're hitting our targets, and we could also monitor that remotely. And so that leads to, you know, by growing this way, we do have a smaller footprint, but we essentially grow each of our, whether it's microgreens, our herbs, which we grow basil, cilantro, dill, and parsley, and we have the ability to kind of speed up that growing cycle.
00:06:24
Speaker
And so usually our growth cycle is 28 to 30 days, depending on the, even less with microgreens. So it is depending on the crop. And then from there, we come out with a really great quality product. That's really interesting. I want to make sure I understand. So it sounds like you've got sort of a central hub and there are a lot of other
00:06:49
Speaker
operations that are linked to that hub? Would that be a fair way to sort of present that? So you essentially have a head house where most of your production tasks happen. And then from that head house, you have shipping containers. They're actually
00:07:05
Speaker
they're actually upcycled shipping containers, which is what we are calling our grow zones. They are retrofitted with this technology and our growing systems. But so in one farm, you could have 20 of those or more. And it leads to your head house. But yes. So do each of those shipping containers or each of those grow zones, are they managed by somebody different or are they all managed by that head house?
00:07:36
Speaker
Not necessarily. So it's all the grow zone and the head house is managed by the farm team. So that consists of your farm management team within your farm management team. We also have a facilities team. And then you have your growers. So we have our farmers. So they go from apprentice growers to associate growers to senior associate growers. And everyone is versed really in every production task that needs to be had throughout the day.
00:08:03
Speaker
That sounds like a tremendous number of people that are involved in the growing and the harvesting of the crops that you guys grow.
Building a Food Safety Culture
00:08:12
Speaker
I'm curious, how do you build a culture of food safety among every one of those folks? Because every one of those folks has responsibility individually for food safety. So how do you build the culture of food safety in every one of those folks?
00:08:28
Speaker
Definitely. I think that's such an important concept to really hone in on and especially as a startup company, right? So it does start with interviews for us. We've made it a point to ask food safety based questions in our interviews to really help give some context into the job scope and ensuring that it's an important part of the understanding of those job scopes on campus.
00:08:57
Speaker
And then from that first once you start to get onboarded, then it's all about training from there, ensuring there's proper onboarding training, annual training, cyclical trainings as new processes or methods are implemented. So the first step I've taken is like, hey, this training shouldn't actually just be for our farmers, right? If we're trying to create a culture, then actually it should be for everyone.
00:09:22
Speaker
uh which you know it doesn't matter what your job title is it's actually important that every square roots employee uh kind of understands what our standards on site for growing this really great quality food that we're selling is and so that's also important from my aspect to just make sure that everyone is knowledgeable about our standards and are trained on those standards
00:09:49
Speaker
And then I try to think kind of bringing it all together is like, how do we stay consistent? How do we adapt it? Once again, we're a startup, so we're always iterating quickly.
00:10:00
Speaker
we're thinking about the next new, better thing. So ensuring we are thoughtful when considering those operational decisions and really trying to implement food safety. Maybe that comes in with infrastructural improvements and further considering how we need to create preventive measures around maintaining the facility.
00:10:21
Speaker
Those things have direct impacts on food safety. And then we really rely, like I mentioned before on our software, so creating those dynamic tools for record keeping and documentation.
00:10:33
Speaker
which, you know, when somebody is recording a task or a risk assessment, you know, they shouldn't have to think about it. They should just be able to know that it's next in line during their production task. And then the last thing is like, how do we measure this? I think the industry is really, you know, trying to understand how we quantify food safety culture, right? And so,
00:10:55
Speaker
I think for us that has a lot to do with our internal-external audit success and being really transparent with those takeaways. And then I think it's just with farmer feedback. Listening to the farmers, supporting the farmers, any feedback or issues or constraints, taking those and trying to find solutions.
00:11:16
Speaker
That's really amazing. I'm curious really where the safety hazards are in your operation that you've identified and maybe how you mitigate those hazards.
How to Mitigate Safety Hazards in Indoor Farming
00:11:26
Speaker
Yeah. So I think, um, you know, as, as all farms, I think something that we're learning now is that indoor farming or agriculture just has different hazards, right? But we are a producer of leafy greens, herbs, microgreens. So we know our risks are high because you know, the inevitable truth is that we're growing food with the intention of being consumed raw.
00:11:52
Speaker
Right. So there's no kill step there. So we have to always be aware of that. We actually have the advantage as opposed to like field growers, because we can pretty confidently avoid animals or contamination from animals or irrigation. But with that said, I like to think of our hazards, not so much as like hazards, but constraints that we tend to see in maybe, you know, facility designs or infrastructure or
00:12:20
Speaker
you know, what materials are we using, which helps enable reducing those risks. So there are different, we grow 24 seven, 365 days a year. We create that optimal environment. So we need to avoid the pathogens who also love to thrive in those optimum environments. But I think that sanitary design is something I've been thinking a lot about. So how do we prioritize that?
00:12:46
Speaker
um, for indoor growing and being able to clean properly. So we've had a few design challenges in the past, but I think that, you know, as we're continuously working to improve and I could almost confidently say we're probably not the only ones facing those challenges since indoor agriculture is quite new. Um, when I try to assess our hazards, I think what does this mean for square roots? So right further enabling your biosecurity measures is really important to reduce hazards.
00:13:16
Speaker
How do we increase maybe the amount of centralized drains we have? Also considering flooring, base coving throughout. And then I think a big part of reducing our hazards are our flows.
00:13:30
Speaker
every production task within our facilities occur simultaneously. So it's really important that when you're washing something in one area or you're harvesting something in the other area and you're seeding something in the next, you're reducing cross-contamination. Is it a linear flow? Is it a circular flow? I mean, I really enjoy thinking about these things, but we really are proactively
00:13:56
Speaker
now trying to think crucially in advance of how people and equipment will flow during each production task, which is really imperative to the success of our farm and our yield. So that comes into lean methods for cleaning our automation equipment, or maybe that also we take all of these processes or considerations I just mentioned,
00:14:23
Speaker
And all of these actions combined can either enable hazards or reduce hazards. And obviously our goal is to reduce them. So prevent pests, those are all things that we need to do on design front. And then food safety and farm design, they just go hand in hand. So when we build a new farm, we think about the food safety from day one, and then we continuously reduce those niche harborage points or crevices within the farm.
00:14:53
Speaker
And then to that point, I think we speak about farms, which might be a little bit confusing to the average person when a lot of times, at least from my perspective, it's been helpful to really look at our farm more long processing lines. So a processing facility and looking at those standards have really helped us know, you know, what our internal standards should be.
00:15:24
Speaker
So it sounds like the first step you said was biosecurity, which is basically keeping it out in the first place and then reducing those niches and those harborage points. So basically not giving it any place to set up shop and continue to potentially cause problems.
00:15:42
Speaker
And then the third step you mentioned was the product flow. So making sure that if it's in the system, it's going out of the system. Same thing with your centralized drains, making sure that it's all going out and away from the product instead of back into the product. Yes. Yes.
00:16:00
Speaker
It's really neat. And then I'm curious, you mentioned the microbiological pests, but I'm curious if you have any other pests that you deal with. Obviously, inside you don't have birds and other critters living in the greens and whatnot, but are there any diseases or pests or anything that you wrestle with? Yeah, so I think we do.
Pest Management Strategies at Square Roots
00:16:27
Speaker
Sometimes I think
00:16:29
Speaker
Our one pest, which I'm sure a lot of people know, are thrips. Those guys can get into any, any place. All it takes is for one little guy to be on your person as you walk through. And hopefully that's where your biosecurity measures come in. But not at the level you would expect or compare to traditional field farming. But with that said, we have to really reduce
00:16:55
Speaker
any type of pest from coming in because as mentioned before we provide this optimal environment so whereas you may get a pest outside but then it gets really hot or maybe pores and like maybe that kind of limits
00:17:10
Speaker
the amount of pests that we're able to reproduce, that never happens for us. So if you do get a pest, you want to make sure that you catch it quickly so that you could really mitigate it. Otherwise, they have the opportunity to produce quite rapidly. But we do take a lot of measures to really try to reduce that. So biosecurity is definitely the biggest part of it. So how are we taking in-air into our facilities,
00:17:40
Speaker
And when we take that air in, making sure we're able to filter it so that the tiniest of pest can't sneak through.
00:17:50
Speaker
From there, that kind of also plays into our IPM, our integrated pest management program. So we're able to really refine it specifically, specific to our growing. And it's also just an ever-evolving conversation. So indoor ag is new. We're all learning what that means for us. So we're always trying to assess, okay, what's a new beneficial
00:18:14
Speaker
bug that we can bring in that we know will help mitigate any kind of pest that might come in. But going back to biosecurity, I mean, it doesn't just stop with how we change our or we put on uniforms or we change our boots or we have air curtains, right? It also has a lot to do with your inputs. So I think a lot about the materials that we bring to the farm.
00:18:40
Speaker
Usually, you know, they have a few lives before they get to us. Maybe they're on a few trucks before us. Maybe our, you know, growing media has been in a few different states. So it's really important that you're visually checking off that rate and you're doing a really good job visually checking just the boxes. But then when you open the boxes, you're looking to see if anything's going to come in from there.
00:19:03
Speaker
And so we're constantly evaluating how to better prevent. And we use, you know, just your, your average good IPM practices, your sticky traps. We do use those in our farms to kind of visually see, you know, are there pests? Are there beneficials? How are we doing? It definitely goes back to cleaning and sanitizing, right? Like if you have a clean farm,
00:19:29
Speaker
most likely your farm is not going to be able to have hotspots. You're not going to grow hotspots easily. And then if anything does occur, we do have reactive measures that we put in place if needed, because we grow modularly, we have the ability or the advantage to take one farm offline if needed, where it doesn't affect all of our other farms.
00:19:53
Speaker
That's where we would give it a deeper clean. It's a rare occurrence, but it does happen. And if we do that, it's a very reactive base measure. But really, it's just implementing many different things that hopefully add up to the successful mitigation of these pests.
00:20:15
Speaker
Cool,
Gianna's Favorite Product: Basil
00:20:16
Speaker
cool. So now I have one last question for you. Sure. What is your favorite product that you guys grow and what do you put it in? What do you use it in? OK, I mean, that's pretty easy for me. I come from a Thai family background. Basil, you know, is used everything. We usually grow our own basil all the time. But now I have the ability to grab basil from
00:20:44
Speaker
the farms and I use it in everything. But I mean, I just can't rave about our products enough. I'm very proud about the growing processes and the quality of our product. And I mean, being a farmer here at 1.2, you know, I know the work that goes into it from the farm teams. So it really comes down to the farmers and farm management teams and, you know,
00:21:11
Speaker
really giving thanks back to all their hard work because that's really how we keep moving forward. Thanks so much for your time. I appreciate it today. Of course. Thank you for having me.
Conclusion and Resources
00:21:24
Speaker
Links to anything referenced in this episode are provided in our show notes, which can be accessed on the website at canr.msu.edu slash agri-food underscore safety. Thank you to everyone for listening, and don't forget to tune in next month for another episode of our Produce Bites podcast.