On Wednesday, I was able to participate and observe the annual organic certification audit at Cal Dining. UC Berkeley is the only school in the US that holds the title Organic Certification by the CCOF. Each resident dining hall (Crossroads, Clark Kerr, Foothill, and Unit 3) have an organic salad bar with organic dressings. I personally love this addition because all of the produce served there is so fresh!
All of the organic products must be stored on separate shelves from the conventional products in order to keep cross contamination of pesticides from occurring. Certain cleaning products, such as bleach and chlorine, are not allowed in the establishment at all and residue checks must be done on occasion to make sure there is no trace of the chemicals. There must be a separate prep area, as well as separate knives, cutting boards, and other kitchen equipment that are designated solely for the use of organic products.
During the organic certification audit, each of these areas was checked to make sure there was no cross contamination of conventional products. All of the invoice sheets (order forms) for each product must be kept and organized within binders. These must be kept for at least five years. Also all the recipes that are strictly organic must be kept as well. Both of these tracking records are used to “trace back”. A “trace back” is when the auditor chooses a random recipe and picks one ingredient and then looks at the invoice sheet for that date to make sure that the amount of that item served matches the amount bought. This ensures that no company is combining organic ingredients with conventional ingredients but still promoting the organic certification to their consumers.
Overall, more colleges and universities should start becoming organically certified. It is not as daunting a process as many may think. I believe it took UC Berkeley under a year to have all four dining halls certified. It does not cost a lot either, UC Berkeley has an annual feel that is under $1,000, which is nothing compared to the revenue they bring in each year. All that is needed is some special storage and cooler space for the produce and a separate prep area and serving station. The students here love the organic salad bar and it only brings praise to the campus.
All of the organic products must be stored on separate shelves from the conventional products in order to keep cross contamination of pesticides from occurring. Certain cleaning products, such as bleach and chlorine, are not allowed in the establishment at all and residue checks must be done on occasion to make sure there is no trace of the chemicals. There must be a separate prep area, as well as separate knives, cutting boards, and other kitchen equipment that are designated solely for the use of organic products.
During the organic certification audit, each of these areas was checked to make sure there was no cross contamination of conventional products. All of the invoice sheets (order forms) for each product must be kept and organized within binders. These must be kept for at least five years. Also all the recipes that are strictly organic must be kept as well. Both of these tracking records are used to “trace back”. A “trace back” is when the auditor chooses a random recipe and picks one ingredient and then looks at the invoice sheet for that date to make sure that the amount of that item served matches the amount bought. This ensures that no company is combining organic ingredients with conventional ingredients but still promoting the organic certification to their consumers.
Overall, more colleges and universities should start becoming organically certified. It is not as daunting a process as many may think. I believe it took UC Berkeley under a year to have all four dining halls certified. It does not cost a lot either, UC Berkeley has an annual feel that is under $1,000, which is nothing compared to the revenue they bring in each year. All that is needed is some special storage and cooler space for the produce and a separate prep area and serving station. The students here love the organic salad bar and it only brings praise to the campus.
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