‘My biggest food safety challenge is effectively managing my environment’

Modern pathogen testing continues to evolve towards more on-site, in-shift systems that enable action and prevent release of contaminated goods.

Sample6 said all systems should be scalable - working for large global companies and local firms, giving the example of Sprout Creek Farms.

Sprout Creek Farm encompasses 200 acres in Dutchess County, New York.

Environmental monitoring program creation​

Colin McGrath started as Sprout Creek’s head cheesemaker in 2006. Over the past ten years, he’s managed the creamery and developed their line - making artisanal cheeses from the milk of grass-fed cows and goats with the traditional methods of European farmstead cheese.

McGrath began to develop his environmental monitoring program when he started selling cheese to Wegmans in 2013.

To bring more small New York producers into their specialty grocery chain, Wegmans started a pilot program with Cornell to ensure products were being made safely before being sold to the masses.

He said the three-year pilot program introduced him to the process of environmental monitoring. Since then, it has become the necessary prerequisite when it comes to firming up his HACCP program.

After a three-year period of developing systems to ensure better, safer products, McGrath was introduced to Sample6 through Prof Martin Wiedmann, the Gellert professor for food safety at Cornell, and a member of Sample6’s scientific advisory board.

Shortly after, he started working with Sample6, providing development samples in exchange for exposure to the combination sampling (DETECT) and software (CONTROL) product.    

Following the conclusion of the sampling/survey collaboration, he decided to implement both DETECT and CONTROL for Sprout Creek Farms.

Traditional swabbing ​

McGrath said the move came after years of working with a traditional environmental swabbing program where he was swabbing, sending samples to a lab and waiting over a week.

“I think the biggest benefits of Sample6 are speed and ease of use. Although I have to run my own swabs, the fact that I can effectively do investigative work is huge. ​

“If I’m investigating a problem, I can swab and know within six hours if what I’m chasing is present or not. With this information, I’m able to quickly make whatever adjustment is needed as opposed to waiting over a week had I gone the traditional route.”​

With DETECT and CONTROL, McGrath can face food safety challenges.

“My biggest food safety challenge is effectively managing my environment, which means detecting and controlling pathogens. My environment has a lot of foot traffic and it has a lot of product going in and out of it. ​

“In order to ensure our sanitation practices are sound, it needs to be managed - not just a monthly round of swabs, but on a daily basis.” ​

McGrath said he was originally only interested in the software.

“Initially, I was just interested in the software because I wanted a way to organize my data without having to input everything. Time is money and I don’t have a lot of extra time - managing my HACCP plan on top of the environmental swabbing program is like a full time job. ​

“However, after seeing the benefit in getting my results back in such a quick time (six hours), I realized DETECT was also a great solution.”​

McGrath said he hopes other producers will do the same when it comes to their environmental monitoring programs.

“I think proper food safety practices should no longer be a choice, but a necessity. Here at Sprout Creek Farms, we look at a solid environmental monitoring program like an insurance policy.​

“In order to effectively manage your plant environment and keep your customers safe, it’s essential to constantly know what your plant environment looks like.” ​