Submitted by: Jeff Burbrink, Extension Educator, LaGrange County
If you grow fruits and vegetables for sale, you should consider attending the Produce Safety Alliance Grower Training being offered on Tuesday, March 19. It will be offered from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Elkhart County Community Center on the Elkhart County 4-H Fairgrounds, 17746 County Road 34 near Goshen.
This training will be offered free of charge because a grant is covering the cost. The normal cost would be $100 per person. Lunch is provided.
Who should attend? Fruit and vegetable growers, specifically farmers, market vendors and managers interested in learning about produce safety, the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Produce Safety Rule, Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs), and co-management of natural resources and food safety.
This training is one way to satisfy the FSMA Produce Safety Rule requirement outlined in the federal produce safety laws § 112.22(c).
That law requires at least one supervisor or responsible party for your farm must have successfully completed food safety training at least equivalent to that received under standardized curriculum recognized as adequate by the Food and Drug Administration. Participants will receive a course manual and certificate of course attendance.
The trainers will spend approximately seven hours of instruction time covering content contained in these seven modules: - Introduction to Produce Safety - Worker Health, Hygiene, and Training - Soil Amendments - Wildlife, Domesticated Animals, and Land Use - Agricultural Water (Part I: Production Water; Part II: Postharvest Water) - Postharvest Handling and Sanitation.
To register, go to INFMCP.ORG online or call Christina Ferroli at 317-403-2801.