News Briefs from the PSA Team
October 2019
On September 16-18, our Southeast Regional Extension Associate, Dr. Kristin Woods , traveled to the Alabama A&M University campus in Huntsville, Alabama to deliver a special PSA Grower Training to graduate and undergraduate students studying food science. Armitra Jackson-Davis and Lamin Kassama, faculty from Alabama A&M University, and Alescia King, Hines Croshon, Dalais Bailey, and Mohammad Anwar Ul Alam, graduate students at the university, co-trained with Kristin as part of a capacity building project. The student participants are receiving intensive instruction in food law and regulations and will be well equipped to enter a complex food industry and regulatory work environment upon graduation. The PSA is proud to be a part of this program, which aligns well with the land grant mission of both Cornell and Alabama A&M Universities to support high quality teaching and extension in food and agricultural science. 
On September 18-19, Dr. Don Stoeckel , PSA Midwest Regional Extension Associate, participated in the Produce GAPs Harmonized Standard Technical Working Grou p meeting, hosted by United Fresh Produce Association in Washington, DC. Participants in the 1.5-day meeting discussed a list of potential updates to the Harmonized Standard. Calibration of proposed language was achieved through discussion among Harmonized Standard licensees and other stakeholders, including auditors, industry representatives, regulatory personnel, and outreach professionals. The plan is for United Fresh to post the resulting proposed updated language for comment later this fall.
On September 23-25, PSA Spanish Extension Associate, Dr. Laura Acuña-Maldonado and 60 other food safety professionals from 26 organizations joined the International Produce Safety Summit in Mexico City. Growers, exporters, educators, consultants, and government officials attended this event organized by QCS and Certimex Certificadora Mexicana. Presentations were primarily led by FDA officials, followed by personnel from SENASICA, QCS, Certimex, and Universidad de Guadalajara, and were primarily focused on the Food Safety Modernization Act. On the third day, a smaller group of individuals observed an On Farm Readiness Review (OFRR) in the Mexican state of Morelos.
On October 2-5, PSA Southwest Extension Associate, Ms. Donna Clements , participated in the GrowRiverside conference and two-day GAPs training in Riverside, California. Donna collaborated with the Riverside Food Systems Alliance and Riverside Unified School District to offer this inaugural training and farm food safety plan-writing session to small and beginning farmers interested in expanding their market access by becoming GAPs certified.  
On October 9-10, Dr. Don Stoeckel and Dr. Connie Fisk supported the 2019 North Central Region Training Blast Off (NB-II) at the Good Acre in St. Paul, Minnesota. The event was organized in collaboration with the North Central Region FSMA Center (Joe Hannan, Angela Shaw, and others), University of Minnesota (Annalisa Hultberg and others), and Michigan State University (Phil Tocco and others). Don attended in person; Connie was unable to attend because of a NEW BABY in the extended family! Both were part of planning and execution along with many others. NB-II was a blended 1.5-day event with attendance of about 30 in-person and 20 online (at any given time). Online participants engaged in a series of presentations and topical discussions including break-out sessions; in-person participants also participated in a morning program including hands-on sanitation activities. Thanks to all who supported and attended the event!
Spanish Version 1.2 - Now Available!
We are pleased to announce the availability of Version 1.2 of the Spanish Produce Safety Alliance Grower Training Curriculum. Version 1.2 is available  in print  and for  download electronically . The complete log of changes made to update Spanish Version 1.1 to Version 1.2 is available in a  sortable Excel file   and  V1.1 PDF files  that have comments indicating where updates were made. A  summarized list of changes  is also available.

As a reminder, the PSA will officially phase out the use of Version 1.0 on December 31, 2019 in both English and Spanish.  This means any PSA Grower Training on or after January 1, 2020 must be conducted with V 1.2 or, as needed, V 1.1 with the supplemental slides. As always, PowerPoint presentations must match the printed manual version provided to participants in the course (e.g., V 1.1 PPTs must be used with V 1.1 printed manuals). All participants in the course must have the same version of the manual. Please review our version use policies on the website for further detail; Version 1.0 and Version 1.1 .

PSA Trainers and Lead Trainers should have received a separate e-mail from the Produce Safety Alliance containing the URL links to the Version 1.2 PowerPoints on Thursday, October 10, 2019. 
Educational Resources
This month, we debut two new videos that can be shared with audiences who may not be familiar with the Produce Safety Alliance and the PSA Grower Training Course. Share these videos to spread the word about the Produce Safety Alliance! For more short videos from the Produce Safety Alliance, visit our YouTube Channel . 
What is the Produce Safety Alliance?
Introduction to the Produce Safety Alliance Grower Training Course
What’s the difference between cleaning and sanitizing and why does it matter? This factsheet reinforces concepts presented in Module 6 – Postharvest Handling & Sanitation by outlining best practices for a four step cleaning and sanitizing process. This is an important concept for growers and packers to understand since management of cross-contamination is critical on food contact surfaces. 
Under the FSMA Produce Safety Rule, growers using a treated Biological Soil Amendment of Animal Origin (BSAAO), such as compost, are required to keep documentation that the amendment was properly treated, handled, and stored before being applied to a produce field. This documentation is especially important as growers prepare for FSMA Produce Safety Rule compliance and inspections. Though FDA does not have jurisdiction over companies that supply treated BSAAOs, suppliers should be prepared to provide this documentation to growers as needed. This factsheet outlines key requirements for soil amendment suppliers, along with an editable model certificate of conformance.
Compiled Resources for Communication with Water Analysis Laboratories
Earlier this month, the PSA worked with the North Central Region FSMA Center (NCR) to compile information for outreach to water analysis laboratories. Five resources were added to the NCR Resources page in the section that shares Lab Map Links with farms, outreach personnel, and others. Contact Don Stoeckel if you have a map or a list that we’re not yet aware of! In addition, you may want to be aware of these other maps to labs located around the country.
Upcoming Events
Registration Now Open - PSA Advanced Trainer Workshops
December 17-19, 2019 or January 28-20, 2020
Lake Alfred, FL
The PSA Advanced Training workshop is a collaboration between the Produce Safety Alliance and the FSMA Southern Center. This three-day workshop is geared toward trainers and lead trainers of the PSA curriculum. Micro 101, Soil Amendments and Animals, Pre-Harvest Water, Instructor Tips for Participant Engagement, Post-Harvest Water, and Sanitation will each have a half-day full of lecture, hands-on activities, and breakouts. The goal of this training is to provide attendees with more in-depth scientific understanding of the Produce Safety Rule to better train growers.

The fee for the training is $800. Registration is limited. Registration includes the training materials, lunch, refreshments, and course certificate. For training questions, contact Katelynn Stull at k.stull@ufl.edu or 863-956-8656. For general registration questions, contact Sarah McCoy at sarahmccoy@ufl.edu . Click here to view the draft agenda.

Prerequisite requirement: Must have attended the PSA Train-the-Trainer Course prior to attending the advanced trainer workshop.

Produce Safety Educators Group Webinar Series
Tribal Culture and Legal Cases Impacting Indians & Tribes
Since 2013, the Produce Safety Alliance has been hosting opportunities for educators through monthly presentations and discussions on various topics relevant to produce safety. To date, 40 meetings have been hosted and are archived on the PSA’s website . If you are interested in being added to the Produce Safety Educator’s e-mail listserv, please contact  Michele Humiston .

We are excited to announce an upcoming two-part series focused on Native American Tribes and Culture. Native American food producers are a critical part to ensuring that traditional foods, including fresh fruits and vegetables, are available to Native American communities and consumers across the country. The webinars will highlight Native American cultural practices as well as legal cases which have impacted Indians and tribes. The webinars are free. Registration is not required and the meeting is open to anyone who would like to join. The meeting will be recorded and posted on our website . 

Tribal Culture
November 4, 2019 - 2-3:30 PM Eastern, Call #41
Speaker: Roylene Comes-At-Night, Washington State Conservationist and Deputy Equal Opportunity Officer

Eight Fascinating Cases Impacting Indians and Tribes
November 25, 2019 - 2-3:30 PM Eastern, Call #42
Speaker: Stephen Pevar, Senior Staff Counsel - American Civil Liberties Union
Upcoming Train-the-Trainer Courses
Check our website frequently for additional course availability.

Apopka, FL, USA: 12/11/2019 - 12/12/2019
  • Location: 2725 S Binion Rd., Apopka, FL 32703, USA
  • Contact Information: Kristin Woods, Phone: 251-753-1164
  • Cost: $250; Course #: FL-191211-TR
  • Registration Information
  • Training Language: English

Wenatchee, WA, USA: 4/1/2020 - 4/2/2020
  • Location: 285 Technology Center Way #102, Wenatchee, WA 98801, USA
  • Contact Information: Connie Landis Fisk, Phone: 541-250-6227
  • Cost: Growers $25; Trainers $100; Course #: WA-200401-INT
  • Training Language: English
Job Opportunities
The University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension is seeking a new team member to deliver research-based educational programming and technical assistance to farms and food manufacturers. This individual will also provide research-based information on food safety to other staff working with farms, food manufacturers and the food service industry throughout the state. These efforts will help build the capacity of these audiences to implement food safety practices in their businesses, craft relevant plans, including HACCP, Preventive Controls, cGMPs and others, and comply with federal and state regulations, including the Food Safety Modernization Act. The food safety specialist will develop networks with relevant local, state, regional and national agencies and organizations and will help link food producers and processors to resources within and outside of UNH Cooperative Extension. The specialist will collaborate with industry, university, and Extension colleagues across region, and will compete successfully in national and regional funding initiatives. He or she will provide support for and seek synergies with campus faculty and extension specialists working in diverse areas of agriculture and food systems.
The College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences – Department of Family and Consumer Sciences at New Mexico State University, which houses the Food Science and Technology academic program, is seeking candidates for the position of Assistant or Associate Professor in the program area of food safety microbiology. This is a 12‐month tenure‐track position with 63% research, 25% Extension, and 12% teaching responsibilities in the area of microbiological food safety. The individual in the position will be responsible for developing research and Extension programming in microbial food safety with a focus on chile peppers, fresh produce and processing of other commodities important to New Mexico. The successful candidate will be expected to develop and sustain extramurally‐funded, mission-oriented research and education programs designed to address microbiological risks associated with New Mexico commodities and food products. This position will be assigned as a core faculty member of the newly formed Center of Excellence on Sustainable Food and Agricultural Systems and therefore will be expected to effectively build and participate on interdisciplinary and multi-departmental teams, and develop collaborative relationships with faculty in the center, and across the college and university. The candidate will be assigned to provide technical consultation, workforce training and food safety/regulatory compliance training to clientele in the state and region. Classroom teaching (estimated as one class/year), mentoring graduate students and active participation in the departmental academic programs are required. Service activities to the department, college and university are also expected.
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