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Hello Produce Safety Alliance Listserve Members:
In this newsletter, you will find pertinent updates related to newly released FDA draft guidance for the Produce Safety Rule and fresh-cut produce, along with public meeting locations around the country. We're also excited to introduce our newest team member, Dr. Laura Acuña-Maldonado, as well as upcoming Train-the-Trainer Course dates and new teaching resources.
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FDA Draft Guidances Now Available
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On October 19
th
, the
FDA issued two draft guidances
to help farmers and fresh-cut processors better understand what they need to do to meet the requirements established in the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act. Both draft guidance documents will be open for public comment for 180 days and will close on April 22, 2018.
- Draft Compliance & Implementation Guide for the Produce Safety Rule: Comment Here
- In addition to draft guidance, there is an 'At-a-Glance' overview of key points in each of the nine chapters, as well as key glossary terms
- Draft Guide to Minimize Food Safety Hazards of Fresh-cut Produce: Comment Here
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FDA Public Meetings Scheduled
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The FDA has committed to holding four public meetings around the country at which the agency will have an opportunity to engage with stakeholders on the Produce Safety Rule draft guidance.
Additional meeting specifics, including information on how to register for the meetings, will be made available on October 31, 2018 through a Federal Register Notice, and on the
FDA public meetings website
.
November 27, 2018 
8:30 AM-5:00 PM
Hilton Portland Downtown
921 SW Sixth Ave., Portland, OR 97204
November 29, 2018
8:30 AM-5:00 PM
Doubletree Suites by Hilton/Anaheim Resort Convention Center
2085 S. Harbor Blvd., Anaheim, CA 92802
December 11, 2018
8:30 AM-5:00 PM
Hilton Albany
40 Lodge St., Albany, NY 12207
December 13, 2018
8:30 AM-5:00 PM
Embassy Suites Atlanta at Centennial Olympic Park
267 Marietta St., Atlanta, GA 30313
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We are proud to announce that as of October 26, 2018, PSA Grower Training Courses have been hosted in all 50 states, as well as the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico! In addition, 335 PSA Grower Trainings have been hosted in 15 countries around the world.
From September 1, 2016 to September 19, 2018 the PSA team and associated cadre of Trainers, Lead Trainers, and Trainers-of-Trainers have trained:
- 27,228 individuals through PSA Grower Training Courses
- 18,893 domestic participants, 8,336 international participants
- 2,207 individuals through PSA Train-the-Trainer Courses
- 1,716 Domestic participants; 491 international participants
For more information about the PSA's training milestones, visit our
Training Reports page. Updated reports are released quarterly. The next report will be issued in January 2019.
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Upcoming Train-the-Trainer Courses
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Boulder, CO, USA: 11/8/2018 - 11/9/2018
- Location: 1345 28th St, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
- Contact Information: Connie Landis Fisk, Phone: 541-250-6227
- Cost: Growers $150; Trainers $305; Course #: CO-181108-INT | Registration Information
- Training Language: English
Rochester, NY, USA: 11/28/2018 - 11/29/2018
- Location: 200 Wegmans Market Street, Rochester, NY 14624, USA
- Contact Information: Gretchen Wall, Phone: 607-882-3087
- Cost: $85 in-state; $275 out-of-state; Course #: NY-181128-TR | Registration Information
- Registration Deadline: November 14, 2018
- Training Language: English
Yakima, WA, USA: 12/6/2018 - 12/7/2018
- Location: 10 N 8th St , Yakima, WA 98901, USA
- Contact Information: Connie Landis Fisk, Phone: 541-250-6227
- Cost: Growers $35; Trainers $75; Course #: WA-181206-INT | Registration Information
- Training Language: English
Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico: 12/11/2018 - 12/12/2018
- Location: Blvd Eusebio Kino No 353, Hermosillo, Sonora 83010, Mexico
- Contact Information: Juan Silva, Phone: 5550166806
- Cost: Grower Course $6500 MEX; Trainer Course $11,000 MEX; Course #: MEX-181211-INT | Registration Information
- Training Language: Spanish
College Station, TX, USA: 1/10/2019 - 1/11/2019
- Location: Kleberg Center room 023, Texas A&M University
- Contact Information: Kristin Woods, Phone: 251-753-1164
- Cost: $75; Course #: TX-190110-TR |Registration information coming soon!
- Training Language: English
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Introducing New PSA Team Member: Dr. Laura Acuña-Maldonado
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The PSA Team is very excited to introduce our newest team member,
Dr. Laura Acuña-Maldonado, as the PSA Spanish Extension Associate. For the last 6 years, Laura has been an instructor for the
GAPs Online Produce Safety Course at Cornell University assisting growers and extension educators achieve food safety training and develop and/or improve their own food safety plans, create worker training plans, and establish sanitation standard operating procedures. Laura has edited and translated several educational materials to Spanish language for the National GAPs Program, including the online GAPs Produce Safety Course. In addition, Laura has edited and contributed to translation efforts for the Produce Safety Alliance Grower Training and Train-the-Trainer curricula, and soon, will begin work on the future PSA Online Grower Training Course in Spanish. Laura will be leading efforts in developing a Spanish-language Lead Trainer process, along with other domestic and international training efforts for Spanish speaking audiences. Laura received her B.S. in Agronomy from the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education, Campus Monterrey, Mexico; her Master of Science degree in Horticulture from Oklahoma State University, and her Ph.D. in Horticulture from Cornell University. Welcome, Laura!
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Updated and New Sanitizer Resources
Post-harvest sanitation can be very confusing, especially when it comes to selecting a sanitizer appropriate for use on fruit and vegetable crops and food contact surfaces. The PSA has developed two resources to help produce growers and packinghouses select a sanitizer.
This document has been developed to help educators assist growers in selecting an appropriate sanitizer for their operation including key things to look for on the sanitizer's label.
Version 2.0 of the sanitizer spreadsheet contains several new EPA-labeled sanitizers and EPA label updates for 2018. A new 'single product lookup' page has been added, which can be used to find all relevant information on a sanitizer in a single page. The new version of the tool also contains minor formatting updates to ease navigation. A
video tutorial is available to walk users through how to use the tool and all of its features.
Sanitizers Webinar - Monday, October 29, 2018 @ 2PM Eastern
In addition to the resources outlined above, the PSA will be hosting a
Produce Safety Educator's call on Monday, October 29th at 2PM Eastern focused on sanitizers. The meeting is open to anyone and no registration is required. We are excited to have guest speaker, Dr. Amanda Deering, Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Food Science at Purdue University join us to share her knowledge and experience on this topic. Notes and the meeting recording will be posted on our website a few days after the call if you are unable to attend.
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Coliform Activity
This activity was designed to be used as a supplemental and optional exercise during Module 5.1: Production Water. The hands-on activity will help PSA Grower Training attendees understand how the presence of generic E. coli in a water sample is an indication of the presence of feces and how generic E. coli relates to total coliforms, fecal coliforms, and pathogenic E. coli through use of color-coded cards that each participant in the activity receives.
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Short Videos on Produce Safety Topics
Over the next few months, we will be posting a series of short videos on various produce safety topics. Many of these videos will be featured in our future online PSA Grower Training Course (launch date TBD), but we have also made the first video available on our
website. If you need an instant pick-me-up for your Friday or a quick video to break up Module 2, watch the PSA Team's favorite "bouncy bear" teach about proper handwashing!
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