September 8, 2021
Produce Safety Alliance Listserv Members,

In this newsletter, we are pleased to announce the availability of the PSA Grower Training curriculum in Portuguese, the newest addition to the PSA team, upcoming webinar and continued learning opportunities, and two job postings.

Enjoy the start of fall and all of the fresh produce that it brings! As always, if you have any questions, concerns, or ideas to share, please do not hesitate to reach out to any member of the PSA team.
Portuguese Translation of the PSA Grower Training Curriculum – Now Available!
In addition to English, Spanish, and Chinese, the PSA Grower Training Manual is also now available in Portuguese! All PSA Trainers have access to the PPT slides (via the same link as our English, Spanish, and Chinese language PPTs) and can download the PDFs for printing from our website. The FDA’s FSMA Produce Safety Rule is also available in Chinese, Portuguese, and Spanish: http://go.usa.gov/xsQUR (scroll down to ‘Other Translations’).

If you are aware of a specific language need or are interested in collaborating on a translation of the PSA’s curriculum materials, please contact Gretchen Wall.
Welcome, Baby Boy Beau!
We are pleased to announce the newest PSA baby!

Beau was born on August 1, 2021 at 9:33pm to Donna (PSA Southwest Regional Extension Associate) and Phil. Beau arrived a little early, weighing 4 lb. 15 oz. and 17” long, however everyone is doing well!
Join Our Team!
Northwest Regional Extension Associate Position
Joining the PSA team is not just for Baby Beau! The PSA is looking for a Northwest Regional Extension Associate! Applications will be accepted until September 13, 2021, so if you are interested, apply today!

As a key member of the PSA team, the Northwest (NW) Regional Extension Associate (REA) will be responsible for planning, organizing, instructing, and evaluating PSA training programs for produce growers, extension educators, and regulatory personnel in their region. The NW REA will facilitate and provide leadership for in-person meetings , conference calls and webinars, and be directly involved in training other individuals to use the developed curriculum; provide continual feedback to PSA leadership through preparation of regional impact reports, training evaluations, and outreach activities; and participate in weekly PSA team calls. The NW REA must be willing to travel regionally and nationally a significant amount of time (~50%) pending pandemic status, including non-traditional and weekend work hours. This position will be located in the Northwest U.S. with exact location being flexible within the 15 states and territories in the region. Please visit the position description for additional details.
Stakeholder webinar: A systems approach to microbial food safety in produce: Leveraging data science approaches to inform food safety decision
A current project supported by the USDA-Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI) brings together researchers and extension specialists at Cornell University (Martin Wiedmann, Renata Ivanek, Randy Worobo, Aaron Adalja), Virginia Tech (Laura Strawn), and the University of Florida (Michelle Danyluk) to provide the produce industry with computational and modeling tools that can be used to assess positive and negative impacts of different interventions and food safety strategies.

The webinar will be held on Wednesday, September 15, 2021 at 1 PM EDT.
United Fresh Virtual Produce GAPs Harmonized Standard Auditor Training – Oct. 18-21, 2021
For over 10 years, the Produce GAPs Harmonized Standard audit program has been popular among small and large growers alike of all produce commodities due to its food safety focus and flexible, risk-based requirements. This training will feature the official training materials developed by the Harmonized Standard Calibration Committee, designed to standardize food safety auditors’ use and expectations of the Harmonized Standard.

This training is open to all audit organization members, growers, packers, and other interested parties currently using the Harmonized Standards. Over the course of four, half-days (12-4pm ET) the training will cover the details of what an auditor should expect to see at an operation, how an auditor evaluates an operation based on the evidence they observe, and how evaluations may change based on different scenarios. An optional add-on is included at the end of the fourth day featuring the GLOBALG.A.P. HPSS riders. The course will take place virtually via Zoom, and registrants must attend the full workshop to receive a training certificate.

Information about the Harmonized Standards, including downloadable versions of the Field Operations and Harvesting, Post-harvest Operations, and Combined Standards, is available at https://www.unitedfresh.org/food-safety/gap-harmonization-initiative/.

The course will be held virtually on October 18-21, 2021.
Visit the United Fresh website for more information. 
University of New Hampshire Extension Seeks a State Specialist - Food Safety
The University of New Hampshire is seeking a food safety specialist to fill a full-time, benefits-eligible position as State Specialist/Extension Professor of Food Safety. This position is an 80% Extension appointment with UNH Extension and a 20% teaching appointment with the UNH College of Life Science and Agriculture in the Department of Agriculture, Nutrition, and Food Systems. This is a non-tenure track position. This position will remain open until filled. The search committee will begin reviewing applications on November 1, 2021. Apply here.
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