Food Safety Considerations and Design for Packing Sheds
Robert Hadad, Extension Vegetable Specialist
Cornell Vegetable Program
This diagram, showing food safety considerations and design recommendations for packing sheds, is not intended to give actual dimensions and square footage since packing sheds can be any size, shape, and configuration. It can be as formal as a permanent building or a canopy at the edge of a field (four sticks and a lid). What really matters is allowing enough room to accomplish the tasks without spreading contamination into the finished product during packing. If produce washing is done, then it is crucial that unwashed product doesn't come into contact with washed produce and the workers doing the washing are clean themselves.
The washing station set up needs to have enough room to move produce in and out. The equipment set-up should consider good drainage to keep the floor as dry as possible, no pooling, or splashing onto clean produce.
Wash Line and Packing Shed Design for Food Safety (pdf; 333KB)
Asparagus
Beets
Broccoli
Brussels Sprouts
Cabbage
Carrots
Cauliflower
Cucumbers
Dry Beans
Eggplant
Ethnic Vegetables
Garlic
Horseradish
Kohlrabi
Leeks
Lettuce / Leafy Greens
Melons
Mushrooms
Onions
Parsnips
Peas
Peppers
Potatoes
Pumpkins / Gourds
Radishes
Rhubarb
Rutabaga
Snap Beans
Squash - Summer
Squash- Winter
Sweet Corn
Sweet Potatoes
Tomatoes
Turnips
Upcoming Events
Small Vegetable Workshop
August 13, 2026
Fulton, NY
Identify vegetables that make sense to grow on small acreage, including under high and low tunnel season extension. Bill Ingersoll, owner of Ingersoll Farms, will provide a short tour and discuss other important factors of running a mixed vegetable farm, including a farm stand and selling at farmers' markets.
Chipping Potato and Field Crops Twilight Meeting
August 27, 2026
Dansville, NY
This year, our field meeting is bringing together field crops and chipping potatoes. SWNY Dairy, Livestock, and Field Crops Specialist Katelyn Miller will lead a field crops management discussion. Hear the latest updates in potato disease control and see the Cornell chipping potato variety trial run by Walter De Jong. Dinner follows the educational event.
1.5 DEC credits available in 10, 1a, 21, and 23.
IPM Field Day for Urban Growers
September 10, 2026
Buffalo, NY
Join us for a hands-on field day exploring integrated pest management and season extension tools for urban growing spaces and the opportunity to build community with local growers!
This event will focus on best practices for using row covers and rat mitigation. Check out our CCE demonstration trial using insect exclusion netting to manage swede midge, an invasive fly that causes damage to brassica crops. Explore how to identify rat activity, reduce attractants, and strengthen site management. Hear from local growers on how they manage pests with a focus on organic management and how they extend the season on their farms and gardens.