ISHS Acta Horticulturae 639: XXVI International Horticultural Congress: Expanding Roles for Horticulture in Improving Human Well-Being and Life Quality
FRESH PRODUCE FOOD SAFETY TRAINING PROGRAM FOR THE SOUTHEASTERN UNITED STATES |
| Authors: | D.J. Osborne, D.C. Sanders, D.R. Ward, J.W. Rushing, W.C. Hurst |
| Keywords: | GAPs, FDA Guide, farm to table, train the trainer, risk management, recall plan, HACCP-like |
| Abstract:
Throughout 2000-2002 a 12-state consortium in the Southeastern United States introduced Good Agricultural Practices (“GAPs”) to the region’s fresh produce growers, packers and consumers. The consortium produced and implemented a widely adopted, award winning training program and supporting materials specifically directed to Southeastern conditions and commodities. The program produced and printed a 329 page instructor’s or teacher’s manual and associated compact disc containing 11 presentations, 9 four-page crop-specific brochures relating GAPs to the crop, filmed a Spanish language hand-washing video, trained 150 specialized food safety agents, created a new Recall Program for the fresh produce industry, formed new networks with federal risk management staff and reached over 20,000 persons in outreach programs. The work was needed because several factors distinguish the Southeastern fresh produce industry from the fresh produce industries of other regions of the US. These differences include: (1) Southeastern producers are typically grower-packers, except for some notable exceptions in Florida and Texas, (2) most producer entities are seasonal, have their own packinghouse operation, are small-scale in that they pick what they grow and pack and often use migrant and seasonal labor, (3) modern worker training, sanitary practice, and facilities and supervisory expertise are either somewhat limited or completely lacking, and (4) the use of seasonal and migrant labor dictates the use of Spanish language interpreters and training - in the face of a marked shortage of either. Thus this multi-disciplinary, multi-state, integrated project expanded and reinforced regional Cooperative Extension efforts, created and published print, web and film materials and trained and created a “train the trainer” fresh produce food safety network. | |
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