All Discussions Tagged 'safety' - Aquaponic Gardening2024-03-29T12:55:56Zhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/forum/topic/listForTag?tag=safety&feed=yes&xn_auth=noWater Absorbing Polymer Crystalstag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2014-02-26:4778851:Topic:5505142014-02-26T23:12:03.540ZTim & Rashelle Goodnerhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/RashelleGoodner
<p>I have been told about the uses of water absorbing polymer crystals and doing research I found upon deterioration they turn into water, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen. My husband and I are looking for alternative grow mediums to use for growing root vegetables in our aquaponic system. Has anyone ever used this type of material? Does anyone have any information about their effects on fish. So far, I have only been informed they are perfect for cricket beds and other reptile bed uses. But,…</p>
<p>I have been told about the uses of water absorbing polymer crystals and doing research I found upon deterioration they turn into water, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen. My husband and I are looking for alternative grow mediums to use for growing root vegetables in our aquaponic system. Has anyone ever used this type of material? Does anyone have any information about their effects on fish. So far, I have only been informed they are perfect for cricket beds and other reptile bed uses. But, again, nothing regarding their affects on fish.</p>
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<p>Thank you so much for your assistance with this.</p> Anchor Worm Breakout in Goldfish - are the plants still safe?tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2014-01-01:4778851:Topic:5388772014-01-01T10:15:06.411ZRazan Alzayanihttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/RazanAlzayani
<p>Hello,</p>
<p></p>
<p>I'm a newbie to this, and didn't quarantine my fish before I purchased them at the store. 2 weeks later, all 3 goldfish had anchor worms. I've taken them out and put them in a salt bath in a hospital tank and so far they seem to be recovering. I'm restarting my system from scratch now - there's only one chilli plant that's growing in the system. With this type of (or any) parasitic breakout or fish disease - are the vegetables still okay to eat? Or should I get rid of…</p>
<p>Hello,</p>
<p></p>
<p>I'm a newbie to this, and didn't quarantine my fish before I purchased them at the store. 2 weeks later, all 3 goldfish had anchor worms. I've taken them out and put them in a salt bath in a hospital tank and so far they seem to be recovering. I'm restarting my system from scratch now - there's only one chilli plant that's growing in the system. With this type of (or any) parasitic breakout or fish disease - are the vegetables still okay to eat? Or should I get rid of them entirely?</p>
<p></p>
<p>Thanks,</p>
<p></p>
<p>-Raz</p> Pesticide Precautionstag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2012-12-13:4778851:Topic:4228172012-12-13T15:15:11.230ZAlex Veidelhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/AlexVeidel
<p>For those of you that know me, my goal with aquaponics as of right now is to learn by experience (my own personal system) in hopes that in the future, I will be able to operate a commercial farm of some kind. As I wait and learn, my mind is considering various aspects of one day owning/operating a business. One concern I thought up was the issue of neighboring commercial farms and the effect of their pesticides on my "organic" plants (whether they be certified or not). Does anybody have any…</p>
<p>For those of you that know me, my goal with aquaponics as of right now is to learn by experience (my own personal system) in hopes that in the future, I will be able to operate a commercial farm of some kind. As I wait and learn, my mind is considering various aspects of one day owning/operating a business. One concern I thought up was the issue of neighboring commercial farms and the effect of their pesticides on my "organic" plants (whether they be certified or not). Does anybody have any thoughts on greenhouse location with surrounding commercial farms as a factor? Is it best just to avoid being by them altogether or can air filtration be an effective solution? Or is it even a concern?</p> FDA Fish and Fishery Products Hazards and Controls Guidance Fourth Edition November 2011tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2012-09-19:4778851:Topic:3934722012-09-19T17:51:11.497ZCraig Mullinshttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/CraigMullins10
<p><a href="http://www.fda.gov/food/guidancecomplianceregulatoryinformation/guidancedocuments/seafood/fishandfisheriesproductshazardsandcontrolsguide/default.htm">http://www.fda.gov/food/guidancecomplianceregulatoryinformation/guidancedocuments/seafood/fishandfisheriesproductshazardsandcontrolsguide/default.htm</a></p>
<p></p>
<p>AWesome book to keep next to you at all times</p>
<p><a href="http://www.fda.gov/food/guidancecomplianceregulatoryinformation/guidancedocuments/seafood/fishandfisheriesproductshazardsandcontrolsguide/default.htm">http://www.fda.gov/food/guidancecomplianceregulatoryinformation/guidancedocuments/seafood/fishandfisheriesproductshazardsandcontrolsguide/default.htm</a></p>
<p></p>
<p>AWesome book to keep next to you at all times</p> My first ebb and flow system just finished.tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2012-09-15:4778851:Topic:3924642012-09-15T19:07:10.610ZDonna Skaggshttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/DonnaSkaggs
<p>Thank you for welcoming me to the community! I am located in SW Florida. I have been a long time koi pond owner and only recently learned of aquaponics for food. We have an 8' x 8' x 16" deep extra pond that I used to have water lilies in. It has a wire top to keep out the racoons. I added a few goldfish to eat any mosquito larva. We pump the water from it up about 4' into the growbed which is about 2' x 8' x 12' deep and filled with river gravel. To get the bacteria started in the…</p>
<p>Thank you for welcoming me to the community! I am located in SW Florida. I have been a long time koi pond owner and only recently learned of aquaponics for food. We have an 8' x 8' x 16" deep extra pond that I used to have water lilies in. It has a wire top to keep out the racoons. I added a few goldfish to eat any mosquito larva. We pump the water from it up about 4' into the growbed which is about 2' x 8' x 12' deep and filled with river gravel. To get the bacteria started in the gravel bed I dumped the filter debris from the koi pond into the aquaponics pond THEN I realized I had a bacteria problem with a couple of the koi. Will the koi bacteria make me sick when I eat the lettuce from the growbed?<a target="_self" href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656373474?profile=original"><img width="750" class="align-full" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656373474?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750"/></a><a target="_self" href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656378699?profile=original"><img width="750" class="align-full" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656378699?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750"/></a></p> Incorporating HAACP practices into a commercial business modeltag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2011-08-28:4778851:Topic:1986032011-08-28T18:15:25.886ZGina Cavalierohttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/GinaCavaliero
<p>There is much discussion about HAACP practices and how they might be incorporated into aquaponic commercial operations. While meat HACCP systems are regulated by the USDA, and seafood and juice are regulated by the FDA, the use of HACCP is currently voluntary in other food industries.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I'd like to explore the 7 HAACP principals and how they might relate to Aquaponics. What should a commercial venture consider when incorporating these principals and what issues might there be…</p>
<p>There is much discussion about HAACP practices and how they might be incorporated into aquaponic commercial operations. While meat HACCP systems are regulated by the USDA, and seafood and juice are regulated by the FDA, the use of HACCP is currently voluntary in other food industries.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I'd like to explore the 7 HAACP principals and how they might relate to Aquaponics. What should a commercial venture consider when incorporating these principals and what issues might there be that are exclusive to aquaponics?</p>
<p>Here are the 7 principals as outlined on Wikipedia</p>
<p><b>Principle 1: Conduct a hazard analysis.</b> – Plans determine the food safety hazards and identify the preventive measures the plan can apply to control these hazards. A food safety hazard is any biological, chemical, or physical property that may cause a food to be unsafe for human consumption.</p>
<p><b>Principle 2: Identify critical control points.</b> – A <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critical_control_point" title="Critical control point">critical control point</a> (CCP) is a point, step, or procedure in a food manufacturing process at which control can be applied and, as a result, a food safety hazard can be prevented, eliminated, or reduced to an acceptable level.</p>
<p><b>Principle 3: Establish critical limits for each critical control point.</b> – A critical limit is the maximum or minimum value to which a physical, biological, or chemical hazard must be controlled at a critical control point to prevent, eliminate, or reduce to an acceptable level.</p>
<p><b>Principle 4: Establish critical control point monitoring requirements.</b> – Monitoring activities are necessary to ensure that the process is under control at each critical control point. In the United States, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FSIS" title="FSIS" class="mw-redirect">FSIS</a> is requiring that each monitoring procedure and its frequency be listed in the HACCP plan.</p>
<p><b>Principle 5: Establish corrective actions.</b> – These are actions to be taken when monitoring indicates a deviation from an established critical limit. The final rule requires a plant's HACCP plan to identify the corrective actions to be taken if a critical limit is not met. Corrective actions are intended to ensure that no product injurious to health or otherwise adulterated as a result of the deviation enters commerce.</p>
<p><b>Principle 6: Establish procedures for ensuring the HACCP system is working as intended.</b> – Validation ensures that the plants do what they were designed to do; that is, they are successful in ensuring the production of a safe product. Plants will be required to validate their own HACCP plans. FSIS will not approve HACCP plans in advance, but will review them for conformance with the final rule.</p>
<p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verification" title="Verification">Verification</a> ensures the HACCP plan is adequate, that is, working as intended. Verification procedures may include such activities as review of HACCP plans, CCP records, critical limits and microbial sampling and analysis. FSIS is requiring that the HACCP plan include verification tasks to be performed by plant personnel. Verification tasks would also be performed by FSIS inspectors. Both FSIS and industry will undertake microbial testing as one of several verification activities.</p>
<p>Verification also includes 'validation' – the process of finding evidence for the accuracy of the HACCP system (e.g. scientific evidence for critical limitations).</p>
<p><b>Principle 7: Establish record keeping procedures.</b> – The HACCP regulation requires that all plants maintain certain documents, including its hazard analysis and written HACCP plan, and records documenting the monitoring of critical control points, critical limits, verification activities, and the handling of processing deviations.</p>
<p> </p> Rhizosphere root inoculanttag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2011-08-24:4778851:Topic:1936252011-08-24T15:43:27.118ZAndrea Rzadhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/AndreaRzad
<p> </p>
<p>Hello Everyone,</p>
<p> </p>
<p> I have been using a rhizosphere root inoculant on my seedlings that I transplant into my hydroponic systems. Now I have a few baby basil, tomato, and cilantro left over and I was thinking about sticking them in my aquaponics grow bed. My concern is that the inoculant fungi in the plugs may harm my new bacterial colonies or may be bad in general for the health of the system. The product bag says " non toxic to flora and fauna" "Increases…</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Hello Everyone,</p>
<p> </p>
<p> I have been using a rhizosphere root inoculant on my seedlings that I transplant into my hydroponic systems. Now I have a few baby basil, tomato, and cilantro left over and I was thinking about sticking them in my aquaponics grow bed. My concern is that the inoculant fungi in the plugs may harm my new bacterial colonies or may be bad in general for the health of the system. The product bag says " non toxic to flora and fauna" "Increases nutrient uptake" "a unique and proprietary blend of fungi that builds a microbial system in and around plants roots which greatly improves plant and root growth, vigor, and production naturally" . The ingredients are expanded clay, Glomus intradices, G. aggregatum, G. etunicatum, G. Mosseae, Trichoderma harzianum, T. koningii and Amino acid L-glycine. It is not listed as organic.. I want to err on the side of caution and ask for any suggestions, warnings, or advice before I plant them in my bed, FYI I am in my 3rd week of fishless cycling, another question in a couple of minuets about that. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Thanks a bunch!</p> Just How Organic Are Those Organic Eggs?tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2010-10-27:4778851:Topic:189332010-10-27T13:21:59.000ZSahib Punjabihttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/SahibPunjabi
"In the wake of this summer's <a href="http://www.care2.com/causes/real-food/blog/congress-questions-decoster-egg-execs-at-salmonella-hearings/" target="_blank" title="DeKoster egg farm salmonella outbreak">salmonella outbreak scandal</a>,<br></br>
after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration uncovered dangerous,<br></br>
deplorable conditions at several large commercial factory egg farms,<br></br>
organic egg farmers reported a…
"In the wake of this summer's <a href="http://www.care2.com/causes/real-food/blog/congress-questions-decoster-egg-execs-at-salmonella-hearings/" target="_blank" title="DeKoster egg farm salmonella outbreak">salmonella outbreak scandal</a>,<br/>
after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration uncovered dangerous,<br/>
deplorable conditions at several large commercial factory egg farms,<br/>
organic egg farmers reported a <a href="http://www.dailyfinance.com/story/company-news/organic-egg-sellers-scramble-to-keep-up-with-fresh-interest-afte/19604370/" target="_blank" title="Daily Finance -- increased organic egg sales">significant increase in sales</a>. Natural food stores and farmer's markets were inundated with concerned customers seeking safer egg options. <br/><br/>Because
organic egg farmers have to follow stricter guidelines when it comes to<br/>
caring for their flocks, many shoppers assume that organic eggs are<br/>
less likely to be contaminated by dangerous pathogens like salmonella. A<br/>
United Kingdom government study in 2008 did find that <a href="http://www.grist.org/article/i-know-why-the-caged-hen-squawks/" target="_blank" title="Grist.org on UK organic egg study from 2008">organic egg farms</a> showed much lower levels of salmonella contamination. <br/><br/><span style="font-weight: bold;">But
all "organic" eggs are not created equal.</span> The egg farms in the U.K.<br/>
study were operating under European organic standards, which are<br/>
designed to promote small-scale organic farming, and are stricter in<br/>
some ways than U.S. organic rules..." read further<br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/>