7 Ways to Teach Produce Safety in the Supermarket

By: Hilary Thesmar, PhD, RD, FMI Vice President, Food Safety Programs, Food Marketing Institute 

Food retailers are dedicated   to selling the safest and highest quality products – and their customers demand it. In fact, 38 percent of consumers identify “the quality of fresh foods” as a reason they will bypass one food retailer and shop at one further away.  Through social media, websites and in-store materials, grocery stores are helping to educate customers about how to prepare and handle food safely after they check out at the register, especially when it comes to fresh produce.

As a board member of the Partnership for Food Safety Education, I’m particularly proud of a new food safety education program—ProducePro—with resources for food safety educators and food retailers to make food safety top-of-mind in the produce aisle. Here’s how:

1. Bag It – Put food safety reminders on produce bags
2. Front and Center – Sprinkle food safety tips throughout the produce aisle
3. Kid Around – Provide kid-friendly activities that help teach families food safety
4. Put It In Print – Template food safety newsletters and signs can help educate shoppers
5. Get Social – Use these customizable social media posts to share food safety lessons
6. Get Cooking – Food safety reminder recipe cards help shoppers while they cook
7. Free Graphics –Reinforce the principals of food safety

Learn more and find ProducePro for food retailers at www.FMI.org/FoodSafety365. Follow @FMI_ORG on Twitter for food safety resources for food retailers and @Fight_BAC for food safety consumer tips.