Food Quality & Safety Frequently Asked Questions
How does Dulcinea ensure good agricultural practices are consistently adhered to with multiple farms in different growing regions?
What is Dulcinea's water testing policy?
What types of fertilizer, pesticides or herbicides are used in each growing area and how are they regulated?
Are any melons certifiably organic?
Does Dulcinea have policies for growing areas in relation to wild life habitats, livestock feeding pens, livestock pastures, fields, rivers or areas that have been flooded in the last 3 to 5 years?
Does Dulcinea have policies regarding child labor in the field or packing shed?
How often are fields and operations inspected during each crop cycle?
Does the term "differentiated genetics" used in Dulcinea materials mean the same as "genetically modified"?
Does Dulcinea have policies regarding wearing gloves, aprons or long sleeves to eliminate skin contact with the product?
What is the time allowance policy from field harvest to cooling station?
To what temperature are the melons cooled and within how many hours of harvest?
Are melons tested for contamination prior to shipping?
Are field workers and packers tested for illness?
What is the policy for temperature of trucks at the time of shipping the product?
How are temperatures monitored in the shipping process to the shipping point?
Are the melons washed, brushed or cleaned after harvest and before boxing?
What constitutes a No. 1 versus No. 2 melon?
What is the minimum brix content for Dulcinea melons?
What percentage of a pallet of melons are checked for brix?
How does Dulcinea track the performance and quality standards?
What is the policy for portable latrines?
How does Dulcinea ensure good agricultural practices are consistently adhered to with multiple farms in different growing regions? At least once a year, we solicit 3rd party audits to evaluate our compliance with Good Agricultural Practices and Good Manufacturing Practices. Depending on the crop, farm and region, audits may occur more often. Audits are frequently performed by Primus Labs. In addition, Dulcinea Farms, LLC has contracted with Scientific Certification Systems (SCS) to handle and verify GAP/GMP audits on our behalf and assist us in developing a HACCP based food safety program.
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What is Dulcinea's water testing policy? Dulcinea® growers adhere to the latest industry guidelines for Leafy Greens in regards to water usage. An initial risk assessment is performed at each water source and these tests determine the ongoing testing frequency. Water testing is included in every Dulcinea® grower's GAP policy and results of those tests must be maintained a minimum of two years.
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What types of fertilizer, pesticides or herbicides are used in each growing area and how are they regulated? Organic and inorganic pesticides and herbicides are used in Integrated Pest Management programs and fertigation systems. No animal manure of any type is used to fertilize our products. The sources of pesticides and fertilizers are regulated by local, state, federal and international authorities. All chemical applications are strictly documented, audited by the authorities and are part of our GAP policy.
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Are any melons certifiably organic? This year, a small portion of our watermelons will be grown under the USDA Organic standards.
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Does Dulcinea have policies for growing areas in relation to wild life habitats, livestock feeding pens, livestock pastures, fields, rivers or areas that have been flooded in the last 3 to 5 years? Dulcinea adheres to the GAP, GMP and HACCP based food safety programs in regards to ground contamination from animal sources. Previous and current usage of adjacent land is carefully evaluated and distance to feed locks and animal activities are closely monitored. Specific details and restrictions are contained in our Food Safety Policy and Dulcinea® GAP.
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Does Dulcinea have policies regarding child labor in the field or packing shed? All growers must abide with national and international laws, including child labor laws. Growers are contractually mandated to obey the laws of their respective countries when dealing with Dulcinea®.
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How often are fields and operations inspected during each crop cycle? Depending on the crop and the operational stage, inspections may occur on a daily to a weekly basis.
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Does the term "differentiated genetics" used in Dulcinea materials mean the same as "genetically modified"? No. All Dulcinea products are the result of hybridization. Differentiated genetics refers to the distinct characteristics and attributes of our products that are genetically unique to the seeds provided exclusively to Dulcinea by Syngenta. These seeds are unavailable to any other company.
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Does Dulcinea have policies regarding wearing gloves, aprons or long sleeves to eliminate skin contact with the product? A variety of steps are taken to insure minimal to no contact with the melons. These steps include wearing properly maintained apparel such as, gloves, hairnets, aprons and long sleeves.
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What is the time allowance policy from field harvest to cooling station? Leafy greens have very strict policies for time allowance, as it is a CCP (Critical Control Point) for these crops. Conversely, since the time between harvest and cooling represents no food safety risk it is not considered a CCP for melon crops and not subject to the same standards. However, for optimal shelf life, we strive to put product in the cooler within a 3-hour maximum time allowance from the field.
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To what temperature are the melons cooled and within how many hours of harvest? It can take 24 hours for a watermelon to reach optimal storage temperature of 50°F. Cantaloupes may need up to 12 hours to reach 38°F to 40°F. Tomatoes require only 2 to 3 hours achieving 50°F.
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Are melons tested for contamination prior to shipping? Melons are tested for pesticide residue, and physical and biological contamination through chemical and microbiological laboratory analysis and quality assurance inspections. These tests are performed at different stages of the growing cycle in relation to the Food Safety risks that exist.
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Are field workers and packers tested for illness? Yes. Workers are trained in the appropriate hygiene measures, such as, hand washing, glove use and replacement, and mandatory use of field latrines. Workers are monitored daily and tested in accordance with GAP and GMP guidelines and requirements. Documentation is maintained a minimum of two years.
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What is the policy for temperature of trucks at the time of shipping the product? To ensure product quality and integrity, trucks are cooled to support a pulp temperature of 50°F to 55°F for Dulcinea PureHeart™ mini watermelon and 38° to 40° for Dulcinea Tuscan™ cantaloupe.
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How are temperatures monitored in the shipping process to the shipping point? Monitoring begins in cooler and goes all the way through customer. We need more information to properly answer this question.
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Are the melons washed, brushed or cleaned after harvest and before boxing? While some pack sheds include washing pools, most of our product is field packed and dusted before packing. For packing operations involving water, a complete set of food safety policies, SSOP, and GMP are followed.
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What constitutes a No. 1 versus No. 2 melon? Dulcinea® Quality Product (DQ) exceeds the USDA No.1 quality specifications. Farms Favorite, our second label, meets USDA No.1 quality specifications. Dulcinea does not sell product that falls within USDA No. 2 quality specifications.
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What is the minimum brix content for Dulcinea melons? Dulcinea PureHeart™ mini watermelon minimum Brix is 10.5. While the USDA No.1 standard for watermelon does not require Brix benchmark, Dulincea exceeds the Good Internal Quality as defined by USDA at 8 Brix average. The minimum Brix for Dulcinea Tuscan Cantaloupe is 11. The USDA No.1 standard is a 9 Brix average.
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What percentage of a pallet of melons are checked for brix? Industry accepted sample size is 1 every 1000, but depending on the size of the lot and operational stage, our sampling achieves 1 in 100 or better.
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How does Dulcinea track the performance and quality standards? We use QC databases to track and monitor our performance standards annually and maintain these records for a minimum of two years.
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What is the policy for portable latrines? Dulcinea's latrine policies, including distance from work area and latrine-to-worker ratio are consistent with our GAP and GMP policies.
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