HACCP
Harte Peat Ltd, operate the production of its mushroom casing material according to best practise and Code of Practise for production of casing material suitable for organic mushroom production.
Organic Casing Supplier
We harvest peat from our own private bog supervised by An Bord Pleanála. The surrounding woodland areas are maintained as screening and will not be harvested under our planning agreement. We do not use any chemicals in connection with the excavation of, or surface harvesting of our peat from the Bogs. Surrounding weed control at the perimeter of the harvested area is carried out by mechanical flail only and no herbicides are used.
The material dug is carried into our ‘controlled area’ where our casing mixing plant is built and operates. Cleaning of the plant, storage bunkers and surrounding concrete hard standing areas is carried out by pressure washing with water. No chemicals are used in this area. We use Bord Bia approved Food Grade cleaning agents. Bulk carrying vehicles are pressure washed before entering the controlled area using a pressure washer with clean water.
Click the buttons below for info about Mushroom Casing Quality Assurance Scheme’s production standards, or to view a certificate of Lichen Group’s Organic Statement.
Approved Mushroom Casing Supplier
The Mushroom Casing Quality Assurance Scheme (MCasQAS) was developed by a Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) representing Bord Bia – the Irish Food Board, Teagasc, the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI), the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), Agri-food and Biosciences Institute Northern Ireland (AFBI), Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Northern Ireland (DARD), casing & mushroom producers and technical experts.
It replaces the previous Code of Practice for Mushroom Casing Production in Ireland, Revision 03, July 2011.
The principle objectives of the Standard are:
• To set out the requirements for the production of the highest quality mushroom casing on a consistent basis
• To provide the framework that minimises the possibility of contamination of mushroom casing from pathogenic microorganisms or other substances that may pose a risk to food safety; and
• To provide a framework for the production of mushroom casing and attendant activities, to comply with current best practice in relation to the safeguarding of the environment and to ensure the health and safety of all staff.
Testing for Salmonella, E-Coli & Listeria
Harte Peat, our casing supplier, does regular testing for Listeria as follows:
Harte produces 2 batches per week on site, production on Mon, Tue & Wed is the first batch and production on Thursday, Friday & Saturday is the second batch, each batch has a number determined by the corresponding Julian calendar number, the Julian date on Monday for batch 1 and Julian date for Thursday on batch 2.
All raw materials would have a certificate of Salmonella, E-Coli & Listeria free status, we also take quarterly samples of each input and send for testing at an approved Laboratory.
A sample of the blended finished product from the daily production run on every batch is sent to an Approved lab for testing, the process involves taking a daily sample and from this a representative batch sample is sent to the lab, each batch is certified for Listeria, Salmonella & E-coli free status.
Harte can provide a certification on all the batches that we supply to a farm. Each container of Harte Peat also has a phytosanitary certificate by container serial number.
Contact Details
Our expert team is ready to lead your project to success.
2 Audas Street, Somerset West
Dave Marock: +27 (82) 551-1305
davem@lichengroup.co.za
