The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) has established the Produce Safety Rule, which forms, for the first time, science-based minimum standards for the safe growing, harvesting, packing, and holding of fruits and vegetables grown for human consumption.

Who should attend the grower training? 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.  The PSA Grower Training Course is one way to satisfy the FSMA Produce Safety Rule requirement outlined in §112.22(c) that requires ‘At least one supervisor or responsible party for your farm must have successfully completed food safety training at least equivalent to that received under standardized curriculum recognized as adequate by the Food and Drug Administration.’

This training will go over the essential elements of the rule to bring your company into compliance.

Those elements include:

• 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