Safe Produce IN Providing FSMA Training

Safe Produce IN Providing FSMA Training

The Produce Safety Rule is part of the Food and Drug Administration Food Safety Modernization Act, or FSMA. It’s intended to prevent food safety issues before they occur by establishing science-based standards for growing, harvesting, packing, and holding produce. If you raise produce that is typically consumed raw, this likely affects your operation. Safe Produce IN is a partnership between the Indiana State Department of Agriculture and Purdue Extension to help educate and train fruit and vegetable producers about FSMA. Morgan Gadd, Food Safety Outreach Coordinator for ISDA says, “We estimate that quite a few of our larger growers are already compliant with far more than FSMA requires of produce growers, but our goal is really to educate everybody about the rule, to answer as many questions as possible about the regulation (and) those expectations.”

Gadd says they want producers to know what is expected of them prior to an auditor showing up. “We want to educate you before we regulate you as a grower. So, the way the whole process works (is) you reach out to us, ask us to come and do a mock audit pre-inspection, and we’ll help to make sure that everything is up to code so you won’t be held accountable to something that you weren’t even aware of.”

One requirement the auditor will ask for is documentation showing completion of training provided by Purdue Extension. There is still room for the training course being held at the Indiana Horticultural Congress at the Marriott East Hotel on East 21^st St. in Indianapolis on Thursday. If you are a producer and have questions regarding FSMA and how it might impact your operation, visit safeproduceIN.com.

Training Opportunities:

Febuary 15, 2018

Indiana Horticulture Congress

Indianapolis Marriott East Hotel

7202 East 21st Street

Indianapolis, IN 46219

9:00 am-5:00 pm Eastern Time

Febuary 27-28, 2018

Produce Safety Alliance Water Summit

TWO REMOTE LOCATIONS

Purdue Extension – Vanderburgh County

13301 Darmstadt Rd., Suite A Evansville, IN 47725​

or

Purdue Extension – Lake County

2293 N. Main St. Crown Point, IN 46307

7:00 am-4:00 pm Central Time

March 1, 2018

Purdue Extension-Hendricks County 4-H and Conference Complex

Small Farms Conference

4900 E. Main St. P.O. Box 7

Danville, IN 46122

9:00 am- 5:00 pm Eastern Time

​​​​March 15, ​2018

Switzerland County Technology and Education Center

708 W. Seminary St., P.O. Box 175

Ve​vay, IN  47043

9:00 am -5:00 pm Eastern Time

April 2, 2018

Vigo County Public Library

Meeting Room C

1 Library Square, Terre Haute, IN 47807

9:00 am – 5:00 pm Eastern Time

April 3, 2018

Purdue Extension-Parke County

1472 North U.S. 41

Rockville, IN 47872

9:00 am -5:00 pm Eastern Time

April 5, 2018

Wayne County Fair & Expo Center

861 Salisbury Road North

Richmond, IN  47374

9:00 am – 5:00 pm Eastern Time