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October 17, 2023
Dear PSA newsletter subscribers,
As fall begins we wanted to give you some timely updates. We know it has been a busy time for many as we travel for conferences, manage work, and navigate around the crazy weather events around the country. We hope that everyone is doing well and we look forward to hearing from you if you have any questions or suggestions for how to improve this newsletter or other outreach.
This newsletter includes important updates on the FSMA Produce Safety Rule, PSA updates, and registration links to upcoming webinars. Happy reading!
Sincerely,
The PSA Team
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Most of the PSA team met in Geneva, NY the week of September 11th for an in-person PSA Executive and Steering Committee meeting followed by a PSA Team Meeting. We failed to get a picture of the PSA Executive and Steering Committee members, but want to thank them for their time and valuable input. The week was a great success discussing team goals, strengths, weaknesses, and taking the time to refocus where PSA efforts are most needed. A large focus of the week was, unfortunately, the concern about PSA funding. Currently the PSA will be out of funding on June 30, 2024. We hope to secure full funding by the end of the calendar year, however if not, the PSA will begin a systematic shut down of all operations. We will continue to work hard serving growers, educators and stakeholders while we navigate the next few months, but we want to be transparent about our concerns and the impact this may have to future efforts. Thank you for your continued support and if you benefit from the work we do or believe in the importance of our efforts, please reach out to your elected officials to let them know you value what we do. Those individual calls and emails make a huge difference. | |
Fruit and Vegetable Food Safety Training Video for Field Employees | |
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This video has been highlighted in past newsletters but we are including it again because it is now available in two more languages, Haitian Creole and Hmong.
Safely producing fruits and vegetables requires everyone involved in planting, growing, harvesting, packing, and transporting fresh produce to understand food safety practices. It also involves commitment from company owners and managers. This video was developed to support fresh produce growers as they implement employee training to reduce risks during fruit and vegetable production. It is intended for all farm employees, but especially focused on field employees who harvest and pack fresh produce. Employee training is not only important for ensuring the microbial safety of fresh produce, but for meeting buyer food safety requirements, third-party audit requirements, and for being compliant with the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Produce Safety Rule. One of the requirements of the Produce Safety Rule is that those working with fresh produce must receive annual training on food safety practices, so this video was created just for them! This new video is an update to the 2003 “Food Safety Begins on the Farm” worker training video produced by the National GAPs program, and integrates FSMA Produce Safety Rule requirements with additional recommendations. Additional languages and videos will be posted shortly as part of this effort.
This work is supported by the Food Safety Outreach Program Grant No. 2017-70020-27259 from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
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FSMA Produce Safety Rule: Documentation Requirements for Water Laboratory Analysis Results | |
The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Produce Safety Rule (PSR) includes agricultural water quality requirements intended to reduce the number of foodborne illness outbreaks associated with fruits and vegetables. The requirements are qualitative and quantitative, requiring laboratory analysis for agricultural water that directly contacts covered produce during or after harvest and food-contact surfaces as well as for water used for hand washing. This agricultural water must have “no detectable generic Escherichia coli (E. coli)” in 100 mL. The results of all analytical tests done on agricultural water for compliance with the FSMA PSR must be documented and kept in the farm record. Information in this fact sheet covers documentation and testing requirements in the FSMA PSR for agricultural water used in covered activities during and after harvest. Although these requirements are not expected to change with the upcoming revised Produce Safety Rule requirements in subpart E, provision numbers or specific language may change. This resource is available in English and Spanish. | |
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Enforcement Discretion for Qualified Exemption after COVID-19 | |
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These supplemental slides were updated in August 2023 to include the expiration of the temporary enforcement discretion policy. These slides could be used in Module 1 or as part of the Exemptions and Exclusions supplemental slide set. These slides could also be used outside of a PSA Grower Training to update growers on the status of the FDA Temporary Policy During the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency Regarding the Qualified Exemption from the Produce Safety Rule.
This information is not part of the PSA Standardized Curriculum. Although it may affect many farms, the temporary policy is separate from the Produce Safety Rule.
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Modification to the Produce Safety Alliance Trainer Directory | |
Due to feedback from those who are using the PSA Trainer Directory, we recently modified the Directory to make it easier to identify active Trainers. A new column has been added called “Active Trainer”. If a Trainer in our directory has participated as a Trainer in a PSA Grower Training Course within the past 2 years, a “Yes” will appear in this column. A filter option is also available to limit the output to show just the Trainers that meet this criterion. It is our hope that this will facilitate finding and building Training teams for PSA Grower Training Courses. If you’re a Trainer and you’re listed in our directory, please review your entry to make sure your contact information is correct. Changes, including requests to be added to the directory, can be made by filling out our “Update my Entry” webform. | |
Educational Opportunities | |
Upcoming PSA Train-the-Trainer Courses | |
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Upcoming PSA Train-the-Trainer Course
Remote delivery course | November 13-16, 2023
Upcoming PSA Grower Training Courses
Remote delivery course | November 16-17, 2023
- Cost $130 ($0 for growers in WI, ME, NH, VT, MA, CT, RI, NY, NJ, PA, WV, DE, MD, y D.C.)
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Course #: NY-231116-GRRD - Registration Information
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Training Language: Spanish
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PSA Team IAFP Annual Conference Involvement | |
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The PSA Team supported several symposia at the 2023 International Association for Food Protection Annual Meeting. This helps the PSA build new relationships, expand our outreach, and learn from other professionals focused on produce safety extension. Each of the symposia are summarized below.
Produce Safety Education and Extension Outreach Efforts Targeting Spanish-Speaking Communities in the United States
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Mariana Villarreal and Davis Blasini, both PSA Spanish-Language Extension Associates, organized a roundtable with panelists Alexandra Cortes, Jacqui Gordon, Sergio Nieto-Montenegro and Valentin Sierra. They shared their experiences, challenges, and achievements in providing Produce Safety Education and Extension Outreach Efforts Targeting Spanish-Speaking Communities in the United States. Some tips for effective outreach included accounting for cultural, socio-economic, and educational differences; developing interactive, accessible, and easy to follow training materials, and being mindful and empathetic of the actual needs and challenges of our Spanish-Speaking growers and farmworkers. | |
Tools Fit for the Task: Water Technical Forum to Support Risk-Based Agricultural Water Assessments | |
Don Stoeckel and Betsy Bihn of the Produce Safety Alliance worked with Dan Weller of CDC to bring information about risk-based agricultural water quality assessment to Toronto. They symposium included two talks about motivations, challenges, and four risk assessment frameworks followed by a grower panel. Charles Stevens and Morris Gervais both shared information about their operations including their frustrations and forward progress with implementing food safety practices. The perspective from the field, describing on-farm realities, was valuable for IAFP scientists, educators, and regulators to hear as we work together to reduce fresh produce microbial risks on the farm. | |
Food Safety Extension Efforts for Small-Scale Urban Agriculture | |
Collins Bugingo and Mariana Villarreal from the Produce Safety Alliance, and Laura Pineda-Bermudez from the National GAPs Program organized an exciting and dynamic roundtable focused on food safety extension and outreach, particularly within communities engaged in Urban Agriculture across the United States and Canada. Distinguished panelists (left to right)- E’licia Chaverest, Ashlee Skinner, Camila Rodrigues, Rachel Kimpton, Billy Mitchell, and Arlene Throness, shared their expertise in an engaging and educational discussion. Items to take away included the importance of relationship-building and trust as key factors to effective outreach and subsequent adoption of new food safety practices for urban growers. The roundtable proved to be a great platform for sharing experiences, knowledge, and insights with thoughtful questions and commentary from the audience. We’re thankful for everyone's participation! | |
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International Fresh Produce Association is looking for a Food Safety Support Coordinator
Position Summary
The Food Safety Support Coordinator is the main membership contact within the Food Safety & Regulatory (FSR) team responsible for triaging technical requests to ensure a prioritized and timely response. The position supports the visibility of the association’s food safety, quality, regulatory, and related technical efforts by ensuring information is accessible on the association website and is appropriately utilized. The role serves as the key liaison to Internal Finance, Membership and Sales teams. The Food Safety Support Coordinator also provides comprehensive support to the Chief Food Safety & Regulatory Officer (CFSRO), the FSR team, and the Food Safety Technical Council. Application can be found here: https://internationalfreshproduce.bamboohr.com/careers/46
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