B&W Pioneers Watercress Industry ‘Firsts’ in Farming
Techniques and Quality Control Programs
• As the world’s leading watercress supplier, B&W has been an industry pioneer in such areas as packaging, product testing and innovative harvesting techniques
• Clear, high-respiration bags and European-style sleeves have proven to extend shelf life over traditional bunches
• B&W works closely with the Environmental Protection Agency, its farms’ respective state departments of agriculture, and IR4(an arm of the USDA) to test today’s new generation of more environmentally friendly pesticides
• B&W has effectively reduced chemical use by 50% over the past two decades
• B&W’s integrated pest management program includes weekly field surveys
• B&W’s Research & Development team investigates genetic improvements in appearance, taste, nutritional value, perishability and handling
• The company is constantly studying new methods of growing and harvesting its crops
• B&W’s unique post-harvest "cold-chain" processing ensures that its specialty products stay fresher longer
• The company’s state-of-the-art cooling and washing systems include ice chilled baths, cleansing rinses, spring-fed or in-house ice production, packing house hydrocoolers, and fully refrigerated trucks

• B&W has initiated a comprehensive Hazard Analysis of Critical Control Points (HACCP) program, the only watercress grower in the industry that has adopted such a voluntary quality control and sanitation plan
• B&W’s one-of-a-kind Microbiology Lab conducts ongoing checks of packing lines, equipment, ice, air and water quality
• Random testing monitors general bacteria, coliform bacteria, e coli, lysteria, yeast and mold counts

Click to see full article