UACES Facebook Cooperative Extension Service to offer produce safety grower training March 16 in Jonesboro
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Cooperative Extension Service to offer produce safety grower training March 16 in Jonesboro

Feb. 27, 2023

By Rebekah Hall
U of A System Division of Agriculture

Fast Facts:

  • In-person training for fruit and vegetable growers
  • Training will cover worker hygiene, agricultural water, postharvest handling and more
  • Registration closes March 13
  • Register at uada.formstack.com/forms/psa_2023

(325 words)

(Newsrooms: With flyer at https://flic.kr/p/2oiGZas)

JONESBORO, Ark. — For commercial produce growers, keeping produce free of microbial contamination and reducing foodborne illness is critical to the health and success of their business. 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.

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SAFETY FIRST — For produce growers, it’s critical to keep farms free of microbial contamination and reduce foodborne illness outbreaks. 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. (Division of Agriculture flyer.)

The training will take place on Thursday, March 16, from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. at the Craighead County Extension Office in Jonesboro. Participants can register online at uada.formstack.com/forms/psa_2023. Registration is $25 per person and includes lunch, snacks and beverages. Twenty seats are available.

Gaby Sanders, extension food safety program associate for the Division of Agriculture, said the training will provide information on worker health, hygiene and training, soil amendments, wildlife, domesticated animals and land use, agricultural water and postharvest handling and sanitation. The training will also help participants develop a farm food safety plan.

“With the increased need for fresh produce in our communities, it is more important now than ever that good agricultural practices are implemented at every stage of planting, growing and harvesting,” Sanders said.

Sanders said participant engagement and attendance will be monitored at the training. Participants are only eligible for a PSA/AFDO certificate of course completion if they are “present and engaged for all modules of the course.”

Amanda Philyaw Perez, extension associate professor of food systems and food safety specialist, said the training can “equip producers of all sizes, whether for direct to consumer or wholesale markets, with important information to ensure produce is grown safely to reduce the risks of foodborne illness and farm liability.”

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, or 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.uada.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 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 Gaby Sanders as soon as possible. Dial 711 for Arkansas Relay. 

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.

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Media Contact:
Rebekah Hall 
rkhall@uada.edu   
@RKHall­_ 
501-671-2061

 

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