Tips and Tricks for Good Safety Practices on the Farm

The purpose of this training booklet is to help food safety managers who attended the Food Safety Modernization Act's Produce Safety Rule training to communicate the knowledge to others on the farm.

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The FDA and USDA are issuing "Guidance for Industry -- Guide to Minimize Microbial Food Safety Hazards for Fresh Fruits and Vegetables." This voluntary, science-based guidance can be used by both domestic and foreign fresh fruit and vegetable producers to help ensure the safety of their produce.

Guidance Can Be Found Here

This resource provided by the Produce Safety Alliance details a list of sanitizers that are labeled for produce.

This list is not every option available, but serves to provide a variety of options for farms both large scale and small.

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Advances in Food Safety

This quarterly podcast explores the potential for novel technological approaches and solutions in each of the core elements in the New Era of Smarter Food Safety Blueprint. The second Core Element, called Smarter Tools and Approaches for Prevention and Outbreak Response, includes goals to expand predictive analytics capabilities using AI and machine learning tools.

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On December 9, 2021, FDA released a plan to improve the agency’s ability to identify the sources and causes of foodborne illness outbreaks. The plan was informed by an independent review of the FDA’s capacity to support, participate in, or lead multistate outbreak investigations. On April 13, 2022, FDA held a webinar to explain and answer questions about the plan.

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Podcast Section

Want to learn more about food safety on your farm and the FSMA Produce Safety Rule? Check out the new Farmers Union Food Safety Podcast series!

The podcasts are hosted by Chris Blanchard with support from the National Farmers Union Local Food Safety Collaborative and funding from the Food and Drug Administration.

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David Bill and Faith Van De Putte of Midnight’s Farm on Lopez Island run a Department of Ecology “farm exempt" aerated static pile compost facility, raise pork and cattle, run a farm stay, and have a no-till market garden.

The staff at Farm Walks talk with them about their biochar research and elements of a safe on-farm compost system. Later in the episode, they check in with Nate Stacey, soil scientist and Farm Program Director at Tilth Alliance and delve into more things compost!

Listen Here!

Useful Links

Ever wonder what exactly in in your soil? Visit the link here to learn about the free soil testing that UADA offers in each county!
To learn more or participate in the NWA Soil Health Program contact bertucci@uark.edu. The deadline to participate is May 15th and there are limited spaces available.
Interested in testing your water? Find more details by visiting this page on the Arkansas Water Resources Center website.

USDA Survey for Small-Scale Food Processors

Researchers from Purdue working on a USDA Food Safety Outreach Project are conducting interviews with small-scale processors to better understand current practices around food safety training and regulation barriers at their farm/company.

The interview will be 30-45 minutes long and will contain a short survey at the end. Participants will be compensated with a $75 gift card. The data gathered will be used to help develop better training for small-scale food processors.

If you are a small-scale food processor and are interested in participating in this study, you can schedule an interview by clicking below.

For more information contact: Maeve Swinehart at mrswineh@purdue.edu

Click Here to Schedule an Interview Time!