Vendors in Alta. are required to take and pass a home study course and post the certificate at their booths
There are newcomers every year to Alberta farmers markets, and for many, it is their first experience with food product sales.
That’s where the regulations governing farmers markets come into play.
A true farmers market is one that is approved by Alberta Agriculture and has been issued a food handling permit by Alberta Health Services.
As well, 80 percent of the vendors must be Albertans selling Alberta products that they, a family member or staff member have made, baked or grown. The other 20 percent can be from out of province or can sell commercially available products.
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Given the constant ebb and flow of new vendors to markets, regulations are useful, said Johwanna Alleyne, president of the Alberta Farmers’ Market Association.
“What you have are lots of new entries to the market in farmers markets, with a commercial kitchen exemption, which means that they may never have gone through any education or regulation in terms of food product delivery, ever,” she said.
“So I think as a consumer, as fond as we are of farmers markets in Alberta, I think in terms of food safety you would have to have some regulation or some way of pulling those kinds of entrepreneurial food people within regulation. It’s usually their first introduction to any kind of food safety.”
Alberta Health Services organized a webinar Feb. 7 for market managers and vendors, and a workshop was planned Feb. 15 in Camrose, Alta.
Cheryl Galbraith, AHS team lead for Edmonton Rural, said food safety issues at farmers markets are rare.
The last known incident in Alberta occurred in 2002 involving E. coli in unpasteurized cheese.
Galbraith said farmers markets are good places to test new products, but vendors might want to check with the local public health inspector to ensure those products comply with regulations.
Farmers market vendors are also required to take and pass a home study course, said Eileen Kotowich, the farmers market specialist with Alberta Agriculture.
“We do want to see the certificate posted in your booth,” she said, noting it is also proof to consumers that vendors have done their due diligence regarding food safety and rules compliance.
The certificate is valid for three years.
Many products sold at farmers markets are prepared in home kitchens and on-farm facilities. Food deemed at higher risk include poultry, meats, eggs, milk and milk products, sauces, low-sugar fruit spreads, cream pies, cabbage rolls and perogies.
Such products must be kept at 4 C or colder, and frozen food must remain frozen while stored, displayed and transported, said Galbraith.
Unpasteurized milk cannot be sold, but whole, raw uninspected eggs are allowed if clean, free of cracks and kept at temperatures below 7 C.
In the home canning sphere, only jams, jellies and pickles can be sold, all of them canned with new approved lids.
There are specific rules surrounding free samples, packages and labels.
Market managers have to meet various requirements involving availability of hand-washing facilities, washrooms and general cleanliness of the market area.
Rules differ between markets that operate once a week versus those that run more often, with the latter requiring more facilities.
Galbraith said farmers markets can expect a visit from a health inspector at least once a year. Inspectors do not visit or inspect vendors’ homes.
Questions during the webinar involved such things as microgreens, flavoured honey, pre-seasoned frozen chicken, haskap and goat-milk lotions.
“I love the creativity and the types of products that are coming out, but it’s also challenging (in terms of) rule interpretation,” said Galbraith.
Farmers markets are big business in Alberta.
Alleyne said the AFMA has 800 members comprising about 200 managers and 600 active vendors, but the overall pool of vendors involved both past and present is likely closer to 2,000.
“I do think that there’s also been a cultural shift in farmers markets,” she said.
“Alberta loves their farmers markets. We have a really strong farmers market culture that is very grassroots, but I think in the current economy and the need for diversification, farmers market is big business in Alberta.”
Alleyne said that given an ever-increasing urban population, “for a lot of people this is their intersection with their local food, the farmers market.”
Regulations for farmers markets can be found at www.albertahealthservices.ca/assets/wf/eph/wf-eh-guidelines-for-public-market-managers-and-vendors.pdf.
The home study course for vendors is online at www.albertahealthservices.ca/assets/wf/eph/wf-eh-home-study-farmers-market.pdf.
