Purpose
This page explains why footwear matters as a spread pathway, what is required in high-risk fields, and what a simple workable cleaning setup should look like.
Required Under the Current Compliance Agreement
Persons authorized to enter a high-risk processing tomato field must clean footwear of all soil and plant debris before exiting the field, using both physical removal and QAC sanitizer steps.
UC Recommended Practices
Footwear is an easy way to move small amounts of contaminated soil from one place to another, so the goal is simple - removal of visible soil and plant debris before a person leaves the field. A simple station at the field exit with boot brushes or scrapers and consistent use is better than a complicated setup that crews skip. Where practical, use the same designated field exit point that is being used for the broader equipment sanitation efforts, so these steps become routine.
Where practical, separate boots for higher-risk and lower-risk field work add another layer of protection. Current QAC recommendations include using a 4-8% sanitizer solution in a simple spray bottle or garden sprayer to fully wet the soles and sides of footwear after the physical cleaning. If a QAC sanitizer step is used, and it should be, it should come only after visible soil and plant debris are removed. It should not replace physical cleaning.
Related links or companion pages
Remove soil
then sanitize with 4-8% QAC
