July 7, 2022
Division of Agriculture to offer in-person produce safety training in Fayetteville
By Rebekah Hall
U of A System Division of Agriculture
Fast Facts:
- One-day workshop offered for fruit and vegetable growers
- Training to cover best practices, regulatory requirements, worker hygiene
- Registration closes July 17
- Register using this form
(474 words)
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — For produce growers, it’s critical to keep farms free of microbial
contamination and reduce foodborne illness outbreaks. To support these efforts, the
University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture will offer a one-day, in-person
produce safety training workshop for fruit and vegetable growers, providing important
information on best practices, risk management and regulatory requirements.
The training is scheduled to take place in Fayetteville at the Don Tyson Center for Agricultural Sciences on Wednesday, July 20th from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Participants can register online using this University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture form.
Registration is $20 per person and must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. on July 17 to allow time for training materials to arrive in the mail. Space is limited to 20 participants.
Amanda Philyaw Perez, extension food safety specialist and associate professor of food systems, said the produce safety training provides important information for both small and large farms.
“These trainings help beginner farmers and small farms build skills and help more experienced, larger farms prepare for food safety audits and inspections,” Philyaw Perez said. “They help to create a culture that ensures food safety from farm to table."
Gaby Sanders, extension program associate for local, regional, and safe foods for the Division of Agriculture, said the Arkansas Produce Safety team is looking forward to offering the training in person again after to switching to a virtual format because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The Arkansas Produce Safety team is excited to offer the first in-person Produce Safety Grower Training for Arkansas produce growers in over two years,” Sanders said. “We hope to help foster the sense of community that Arkansas growers hold dear by offering an in-person training after years of online-only training.”
Sanders said participant attendance and engagement will be monitored at the training. Participants are only eligible for a PSA/AFDO certificate of course competition if they are “present and engaged for all modules of the course.”
Topics covered will include worker health, hygiene and training, soil amendments, postharvest handling and sanitation and developing a farm food safety plan.
Sanders said the training will be offered in both virtual and in-person formats in the future.
“We hope that by offering both virtual and face-to-face trainings going forward, we can provide this necessary education in formats that work for everyone,” she said. “We truly appreciate the flexibility of our state’s farmers over the past two years and look forward to seeing them again.”
The training, developed by the Produce Safety Alliance and presented by the Cooperative Extension Service’s Arkansas Produce Safety Team, teaches growers about regulatory requirements of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Produce Safety Rule. FSMA is the first federally regulated standard for growing, harvesting, packing, and holding fresh produce.
For more information, contact Sanders at gsanders@uada.edu or at 501-671-2046.
To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @AR_Extension. To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uark.edu. Follow on Twitter at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on Twitter at @AgInArk.
About the Division of Agriculture
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s mission is to strengthen agriculture, communities, and families by connecting trusted research to the adoption of best practices. Through the Agricultural Experiment Station and the Cooperative Extension Service, the Division of Agriculture conducts research and extension work within the nation’s historic land grant education system.
The Division of Agriculture is one of 20 entities within the University of Arkansas System. It has offices in all 75 counties in Arkansas and faculty on five system campuses.
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture offers all its Extension and Research programs to all eligible persons without regard to race, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital or veteran status, genetic information, or any other legally protected status, and is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture is an equal opportunity/equal access/affirmative action institution. If you require a reasonable accommodation to participate or need materials in another format, please contact 479-575-4607 as soon as possible. Dial 711 for Arkansas Relay.
# # #
Media Contact:
Rebekah Hall
rkhall@uada.edu
@RKHall_
501-671-2061