diy solar water heater aquaponics | Aquaponics safe food and public perception

diy solar water heater aquaponics

(image from the book of Warren Leon and Caroline DeWaal)

In the past few weeks have three events have shown that all fall under the heading of food safety, aquaponics, and how the public perceives the two.

1) the outbreak of e. coli in Europe emphasizes once again the risks in our current food supply system. In an excerpt from a NYT article run June 6, 2011: "the incoherent struggle of German health authorities to identify the contaminated food behind one of the deadliest e. coli outbreaks in recent years underlines the difficulties of following a pathogen by the complex food supply chain."  Sometimes it feels as if we Russian roulette with our food supply.

But there is a way to be absolutely sure that there is no possibility of contracting e-coli is: aquaponically grow.  Fish are cold warm-blooded animals, and as such cannot host e. coli or Salmonella pathogens. The following is from a Sept/Oct, 2009 in maximum yield Magazine by Dr. Michael a. Nichols article entitled "Aquaponics: clean, green and organic".

A study/research on bacterial infection … was conducted on CDCS (crop diversification Centre, Brooks, Alberta, Canada). The leaves were gathered in aquaponics and compared with the green vegetables purchased in grocery stores. …. This confirmed the previous two years of food security studies, which have no presence of e. coli showed or other pathogens in aquaponics produce. Its not a surprising result, if the plants are grown in a limited area with no contact with animal manure, which are a main source of contamination of e. coli in field grown products. So, aquaponics is not only more efficient and environmentally friendly than other technologies, but it is also a safer way to produce vegetables.

2) ironically, at the same time as this outbreak was garnering international attention, friendly Aquaponics found that their food safety certification could not be upgraded or renewed. (The following is excerpted, with permission, from the friendly Aquaponics Newsletter # 39, 2 June 2011)

We sell no longer our sla mix in Costco. This is a sad thing for us, because we love all the staff of the Costco which over the years we have dealt with, and they loved our sla. They told us that they even people waiting on the ground for the contract on the cold storage, just as people wait for a premiere movie tickets was rolled.

Why did this happen? Costco required food safety certification of suppliers. We demand met and initially got food safety certified by the State of Hawaii, who was trained to food safety audits by a national food safety certification business. As good as we can tell, how they apply the standards for food safety in the past year or so somewhere was reinterpreted and aquaponically is no longer grown products may be eligible for certification.

This is because of two things that are inherent in aquaponics that can not be changed in order to meet the standards for food safety (at least, cannot be changed and have it still be aquaponics!). The rules for food safety check say that"the presence of animals in the growing field is an automatic (complete) failure of the food safety audit", and"the presence of untreated manure in the growing sector is also an automatic failure of the food safety audit

I had a chance to talk with Susanne friend yesterday and get a few more details.  Ends that Hawaii, which was originally certified friendly Aquaponics, is considered a third party auditor, and Costco the acceptance of their food safety certification was unusual-they require normal documentation of a private office which is considered the "primary auditor".  Someone in the offices of Costco noticed this discrepancy when their food safety certification came up for renewal and a private office auditor to friendly, who later became the renewal of their certification are rejected on the basis of the "template", i.e. the specific set of rules he was using.

Hawaii is very friendly to aquaponics (no pun intended) because there are so many aquaponic activity there.  The State is even doing a 48 million dollar subsidy around alternative forms of agriculture.  The private office has no such incentive.  They have their rules, and their inspectors simply follow these rules.  They are not paid to ask questions like "a fish an" animal "as the definition is intended, mainly because the fish cant exactly walk to where the lettuce grows to direct pollution.  And then theres the obvious question – must all manure shall be considered to be the same, or should the certification rules recognize that the manure of cold warm-blooded animals can not and not the threatening diseases commonly found in warm blooded animal manure wear?

These questions are just a pain in the side of an accountant, but they have an enormous impact on a young aquaponics industry.  This leads me to the third event.

3) is proposed, an association Aquaponics. The mandate? The benefits of aquaponics and rumors and myths about growing aquaponically.  To assist in answering challenges such as the friendly currently on their own answer.  Conferences such as scheduled for Orlando, FL we are co-production with Green Acre Organics this year (website link coming soon).  Want to take advantage of educational materials, conducts an aquaponics speakers bureau, and as a resource to the press.  Perhaps eventually even to offer legal assistance, insurance assistance and certification.

A discussion on the formation of this organization is scheduled for the last day of the Orlando Aquaponics Conference, September 18, 2011.  We hope to get from a large crowd of passionate, invested aqua pons there happen to see!

Enjoyed this post? Here are some others you might like:

Aquaponics is better than certified organic?New York Times on AquaponicsInterview with Dr. James Rakocy, father of Aquaponics: part 2New Aquaponics CommunityCommercial Aquaponics training

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