Food Safety Modernization Act Produce Grower Trainings Offered in Cecil, Charles Counties in November

ANNAPOLIS, MD –The University of Maryland, University of Maryland Extension, and Maryland Department of Agriculture will host two Produce Safety Alliance Grower Trainings this fall. The first is scheduled for Monday, November 27 at the Cecil County Extension office in Elkton, and the second is scheduled for Thursday, November 30 at the Charles Soil Conservation District Office in Waldorf.  Successful completion of the Produce Safe Alliance Grower Training is one way to satisfy the Food Safety Modernization Act Produce Safety Rule requirement that requires “at least one supervisor from the farm must complete food safety training at least equivalent to the standardized curriculum recognized by the FDA.” The cost of the training is $25, which covers training materials, lunch and snacks, and training certificates.

Who should attend? Growers who are interested in learning about produce safety, who need to comply with the FSMA Produce Safety Rule (Note: Growers with over $500,000 in produce sales are required to be compliant by January 2018), who need to satisfy buyer requirements, and/or who need to maintain a food safety certification.

After this day-long training, growers will have a better understanding of the Food Safety Modernization Act Produce Safety Rule requirements, an explanation of the Maryland Department of Agriculture’s role in implementing the rule in Maryland and training completion certificates required by the rule.

The trainers will spend approximately seven hours of instruction time to cover content contained in the following seven modules:

• Introduction to Produce Safety
• Worker Health, Hygiene, and Training
• Soil Amendments
• Wildlife, Domesticated Animals, and Land Use
• Agricultural Water (Part 1: Production Water; Part II: Postharvest Water)
• Postharvest Handling and Sanitation
• How to Develop a Farm Food Safety Plan

While these modules are informative, growers will also learn from the interaction with other growers and educators during the classroom discussions. Participants should come prepared to share their experiences and produce safety questions.  For more information, please contact Justine Beaulieu jbeauli1@umd.edu or 301-405-7543.

Registration link for November 27 in Elkton (Cecil Co.)

Registration link for November 30 in Waldorf (Charles Co.)

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