LITTLE ROCK – To help Arkansas producers stay up to date on food safety precautions and prepare for upcoming regulatory deadlines, the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture is hosting several spring Produce Grower Training Workshops.
Food safety has long been an issue in food production. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates 48 million people get sick and 3,000 people die each year from food-borne illnesses in the United States, according to a news release.
Widespread food safety issues resulted in the Product Safety Rule, established under the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2011, which established standards and requirements for food producers. The workshop series will educate Arkansas producers on these standards and requirements, according to the release.
All fruit and vegetable growers should receive food safety training and some will be inspected by the Arkansas Agriculture Department starting in May 2019. However, this is being implemented in steps.
Although smaller-scale growers aren’t required to receive the training until next year, Amanda Philyaw Perez, extension food safety specialist and assistant professor for the Division of Agriculture, suggests getting a head start.
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“With news of E. coli and other foodborne contamination, this training is important for farms to prevent those outbreaks from ever starting,” Perez said. “This safety training is being required of most produce farmers. And although farms making between $25,000 and $250,000 in sales won’t have to take this training before 2020, it’s not a bad idea to get this in early.”
Dates and locations for the workshops are:
Feb. 13 — Division of Agriculture Cooperative Extension State Office, Little Rock;
March 14 — Independence County Extension Office, Batesville;
April 16 — Best Western Inn of the Ozarks, Eureka Springs.
Topics will include worker health, production water, land use and more. The workshop will cost $35. Registration is available at www.uaex.edu/Arkansas-produce-safety. For details on food safety, visit www.uaex.edu/health-living/food-safety.
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture offers all its Extension and Research programs to all eligible persons without discrimination.