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Produce Safety Grower Training March 8 & 9, 2022

January 27, 2022
A farm employee holds a cardboard flat of strawberry quarts with a wooden trailer of strawberry flats pulled by a tractor in the immediate background and additional workers picking strawberries in the field in the distant background.

Growers harvest strawberries for Sam Mazza's Farm Market in Colchester, VT

UPDATE February 7, 2022: Registration is now closed as capacity has been reached for this course. If you would like to be informed about future training opportunities, contact Ollie Cultrara at ollie.cultrara@vermont.gov or 802-461-5128. 

Overview

Produce Safety Alliance Grower Training delivered remotely via Zoom video conference by staff from the University of Vermont Extension Produce Safety Team and the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets Produce Program. 

Date: Tues, March 8 – Wed, March 9, 2022
Time: 1:00 PM–5:30 PM
Cost: $20 (includes course materials and AFDO certificate)
Location: Remote Delivery via Zoom video conference

Learn more And register

Who Should Attend

Fruit and vegetable growers and others interested in learning about produce safety, the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Produce Safety Rule, Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs), and co-management of natural resources and food safety.

This training satisfies the FSMA Produce Safety Rule requirement for covered farms that "at least one supervisor or responsible party" completes "food safety training … recognized as adequate” by FDA (21 C.F.R. §112.22(c)). 

Registration 

Register online by Feb 16, 2022. This training will be limited to 20 participants.
Contact Dana Ruppert for more information, or to request a disability-related accommodation. Email: dana.ruppert@uvm.edu or phone: (802) 257-7967 ex. 302.

What to Expect at the PSA Grower Training Course

The trainers will cover the content contained in these seven modules:
  • Introduction to Produce Safety
  • Worker Health, Hygiene, and Training
  • Soil Amendments
  • Wildlife, Domesticated Animals, and Land Use
  • Agricultural Water (Part I: Production Water; Part II: Postharvest Water)
  • Postharvest Handling and Sanitation
  • How to Develop a Farm Food Safety Plan
In addition to learning about produce safety best practices, key parts of the FSMA Produce Safety Rule requirements are outlined within each module. There will be time for questions and discussion, so participants should come prepared to share their experiences and produce safety questions.

Additional Information

Please note that this web-based training will require you to have a computer with Zoom video conferencing software, a camera and microphone for communication, and sufficient internet speed to allow for successful video and audio streaming. Participant attendance and engagement will be monitore, and participants will only be eligible for the PSA/AFDO Certificate of Course Completion if they are present for all modules of the course. These requirements are set by the Produce Safety Alliance to ensure participation and for the award of AFDO certification. 

Learn more and register