Are you ready for new food safety regulations?

By Karen Binder

AgriNews Publications

MOUNT VERNON, Ill. -- One of the first opportunities for large Midwestern growers to learn about the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety Modernization Act comes on Aug. 1.

That's when University of Illinois Extension is hosting a Producer Safety Alliance Grower Training session at Rend Lake College in Ina, south of Mount Vernon.

The all-day workshop focuses on new federal requirements that large produce growers earning $500,000 or more over a three-year period must comply with by January 2018.

"Any large grower with concerns about safety in their produce operation, compliance with FSMA or who wants to know more about the difference between FSMA and Good Agricultural Practices should attend this training," Laurie George said.

She's not only one of the presenting U of I Extension educators for the workshop, but she's also one of a handful of certified trainers nationwide who can teach this material on behalf of the alliance.

Federal Rules

The Produce Safety Alliance is a collaboration between Cornell University, the Food and Drug Administration and the USDA to prepare fresh produce growers to meet the regulatory requirements included in the FSMA Produce Safety Rule. This new federal rule outlines how people grow, harvest, pack and hold produce for human consumption.

The Aug. 1 training covers a range of topics from worker health, hygiene and training, soil amendments and agricultural water to animals and land use, postharvest handling and sanitation and farm food safety plans.

This workshop is only one of two left scheduled in the Midwest by the alliance this year. The second one is in November in Nebraska.

Most of the large producer workshops are scheduled in California, Florida, Georgia, Texas and Washington.

George also pointed out that this training is one way to satisfy the FSMA rule that requires at least one supervisor or responsible party from each farm to successfully complete recognized food safety training.

Future workshops will be scheduled for very small and small growers as compliance deadlines approach in 2019 and 2020.

Get Certified

After attending the entire course, participants will be eligible to receive a certificate from the Association of Food and Drug Officials that verifies they have completed the training course.

To receive an AFDO certificate, a participant must be present for the entire training and submit the appropriate paperwork to their trainer at the end of the course.

Costs include $55 for registration and lunch and $60 for a PSA Grower Training Manual. Cost for certificates, which are required for individuals looking to meet the conditions of the FSMA Produce Rule, is $35.

Anyone needing this certificate should bring a separate $35 check to the training workshop made out to AFDO. The check will be collected at the end of the program.

Registration will close on July 17. There are a limited number of seats available for this training.

Once the course is full, registration will close, George said.

Contact George at ljgeorge@illinois.edu with any questions. Register and find more information at https://tinyurl.com/yd5kmvx4.

Karen Binder can be reached at 618-534-0614 or kbinder@agrinews-pubs.com. Follow her on Twitter at: @AgNews_Binder.