Produce safety training offered for fruit, vegetable growers
Fruit and vegetable growers can meet training requirements of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) at workshops at several locations throughout Missouri.
FSMA includes rules for produce growers intended to reduce the risk of contamination from E. coli, listeria, salmonella and other disease-causing microbes. The rules set standards related to water quality, use of manure and compost, and worker health and hygiene.
“Because some produce is not cooked before eating, it’s essential that anyone handling fresh fruit and vegetables along the grower-to-consumer chain use the best practices possible to ensure safety,” said Londa Nwadike, consumer food safety specialist with University of Missouri Extension and Kansas State Research and Extension.
Dates and locations
· Oct. 18, Poplar Bluff.
· Nov. 7, Jamesport.
· Nov. 17, Kirksville.
· Dec. 6, Kansas City.
· Dec. 13, Barnett.
· Jan. 11, 2018, St. Joseph (at the Great Plains Growers Conference).
For more information
· Poplar Bluff workshop: extension.missouri.edu/butler or 573-686-8064.
· All other workshops: ksre.k-state.edu/foodsafety/produce or 816-482-5850.
The seven-hour workshop covers how to identify risks, best practices to reduce risks, key parts of the FSMA’s produce safety rule, and how to develop a farm food safety plan.
Participants will be eligible to receive a Certificate of Course Attendance from the Association of Food and Drug Officials that verifies they have attended the course, which is a requirement for compliance with the FSMA produce safety rule. Certificates are issued to individuals who attend the course and do not stay with the farm or organization if those individuals leave.
The workshops are sponsored by the University of Missouri, Kansas State University, Lincoln University, and the Kansas and Missouri departments of agriculture.
Source: Londa Nwadike, 816-482-5850
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