On-Farm Food Safety Section

Keep up with the latest news on this dynamic topic that impacts growers on multiple levels. Developing a farm food safety plan is a good idea for all growers, and may be required as part of food safety audits if you sell to certain buyers.

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January 29, 2021

2021 NJ Ag/VGANJ Virtual Convention Update

By now you’ve probably heard from many venues that the educational sessions of our 2021 NJ Ag/VGANJ Convention will be held virtually the last week of February. Members of the Rutgers NJAES Vegetable Working Group and our colleagues that cover other commodities have developed a comprehensive program covering a wide range of topics. The entire up-to-date program can now viewed on the Vegetable Growers Association of NJ website – VGANJ.com/schedule.

As you will see on the program, concurrent two and a half hours-long, commodity-oriented sessions and workshops are scheduled each morning and afternoon. There will be sessions offering pesticide recertification credits. To accommodate the limitations of the Zoom platform, category credits will be available in afternoon sessions only, while two lunchtime sessions (Tues and Thurs) offer CORE credits.

Morning sessions may carry over into lunchtime Q&A discussions with speakers, if demand warrants, but on Wed, Feb 24, please join VGANJ President John Banscher for a special Tribute to New Jersey Farmers. We thank you for all your essential work during the pandemic of 2020, and we thank the VGANJ for sponsoring this educational event.

As we have offered at previous conventions, we are partnering with the NJ Dept of Health to offer their required training to those farmers/market managers who participate in the WIC & Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program. However, so as not to interfere with afternoon sessions, this has been scheduled as a separate Zoom meeting from 4-6pm. More details will follow.

To obtain credits via a virtual meeting requires a couple of extra steps on your part. Please view and familiarize yourself with the steps to be followed in this guide, which will also be available if you sign up for credits after registering with VGA. If you are not looking for credits, you will be able to move from session to session, but those wanting credits will need to be signed in to the Zoom meeting within 10 minutes of the start, remain attentive and responsive to random polls, and logged into the session until it ends. There will be some allowance and support if there are technical issues, but otherwise, leaving a meeting early will disqualify you for credits.

Filed Under: Blueberry, Commercial Ag Updates, Field, Forage & Livestock, Food Safety, Fruit, Landscape, Nursery, & Turf, Nursery, Organic Production, Strawberry, Tree Fruit, Vegetable Crops, Wine Grape
January 14, 2021

Free Webinar: Strategies to Help Ag Producers Plan During the COVID-19 Crisis

Eastern farmers and agricultural producers have experienced unprecedented challenges in handling the vulnerability of our food systems. As we move forward to plan for a new season and a new year during the COVID pandemic, there is an urgent need to seek and identify best strategies to support farmers and agricultural producers in adjusting goals and achieving prosperity. This Open Forum – January 20, 2021 at 12:00 – 1:30 p.m. – will provide practitioners, extension agents, farmers, and agricultural producers an opportunity to identify gaps, brainstorm ideas, and share examples to support each other. Presenters leading the discussions will share 1-2 best practices to assist farmers and agricultural producers, including value-added production, agritourism, and other operations types.

This event is free and open to anyone, but registration is required to get the Zoom link. Registration is available by clicking here.

eXtension is embedded in the U.S. Cooperative Extension System and serves on the Extension Committee on Organization and Policy (ECOP). eXtension provides an array of opportunities for Extension professionals that foster innovation creation, the adoption of innovations at member institutions, and increased impact of Extension programs.

Filed Under: Commercial Ag Updates, Field, Forage & Livestock, Food Safety, Fruit, Landscape, Nursery, & Turf, Vegetable Crops Tagged With: , ,
January 7, 2021

Quality Loss Adjustment (QLA) Program Now Available for Eligible Producers Affected by 2018, 2019 Natural Disasters

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) has announced that signup for the Quality Loss Adjustment (QLA) Program began Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021. Funded by the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2020, this new program provides assistance to producers who suffered eligible crop quality losses due to natural disasters occurring in 2018 and 2019. The deadline to apply for QLA is Friday, March 5, 2021. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Commercial Ag Updates, Field, Forage & Livestock, Food Safety, Fruit, Landscape, Nursery, & Turf, Organic Production, Tree Fruit, Vegetable Crops Tagged With: , , ,
January 7, 2021

Harmonized Audit From Start To Finish – January 19, 2021

If you need to know more about the USDA Harmonized Audits register for the virtual training on January 19, 2021.  This three hour class will cover each question on the USDA Harmonized Audit and USDA Harmonized Plus Audits.  New Jersey Department of Agriculture Auditors will discuss how someone signs up for an audit and review common issues that auditors found during 2020 audits.  Participants will have the opportunity have their questions answered to help make their audit run more smoothly.  To register for the class go to https://go.rutgers.edu/whfr8g1u

Filed Under: Commercial Ag Updates, Food Safety, Fruit, Vegetable Crops
January 4, 2021

USDA to Conduct 2020 Local Food Marketing Practices Survey

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) will conduct the 2020 Local Food Marketing Practices Survey, beginning in January 2021.  First conducted in 2015, this Census of Agriculture special study will look at local and regional food systems and provide new data on how locally grown and sold foods in the United States are marketed. The results will be available in November 2021. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Commercial Ag Updates, Food Safety, Fruit, Organic Production, Vegetable Crops Tagged With: , , ,
November 24, 2020

Food Safety Training 2021

With the need to social distance and restrictions on the number of individuals allowed at a meeting we are holding all our food safety trainings online for the spring.  Below is the list of trainings which are limited to 20 participants for each unless noted.

Produce Safety Alliance Training

The Produce Safety Alliance 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 the standardized curriculum recognized as adequate by the Food and Drug Administration’.  This is the only training recognized by the FDA at this time!

 

Fruit and vegetables 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 should also attend this training.

For the Produce Safety Alliance Training you must follow these requirements.  You must have a computer or laptop with audio (microphone) and video (camera) capabilities.  Video must be on for the entire course. Before signing up for this training please read the following: (right click on link below to open menu then click open link in new tab or just copy and paste link into your browser) https://producesafetyalliance.cornell.edu/training/zoom/. Without these requirements you will not receive a certificate of completion.

 What to Expect at the PSA Grower Training Course?

This is approximately a seven-hour course to cover 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, parts of the FSMA Produce Safety Rule requirements are outlined within each module and are included in the grower manual provided.  There is time for questions and discussion, so participants are encouraged to share their experiences and produce safety questions.

 Benefits of Attending the Course

The course provides a foundation of Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) and co-management information, FSMA Produce Safety Rule requirements, and details on how to develop a farm food safety plan.  Individuals who participate in this course are expected to gain a basic understanding of:

  • Microorganisms relevant to produce safety and where they may be found on the farm
  • How to identify microbial risks, practices that reduce risks, and how to begin implementing produce safety practices on the farm
  • Parts of a farm food safety plan and how to begin writing one
  • Requirements in the FSMA Produce Safety Rule and how to meet them.

After attending the entire course, participants will be eligible to receive a certificate from the Association of Food and Drug Officials (AFDO) that verifies they have completed the training course.  To receive an AFDO certificate, a participant must be online for the entire training and submit the appropriate paperwork to the trainers at the end of the course.

Course Dates:

January 12 – 13  registration deadline December 31 (there is one slot available for these dates)

February 11 – 12  registration deadline January 28

March 9 – 10  registration deadline February 23

Third Party Audit Training

Each year we hold third party audit training for the USDA Harmonized Audit.  This year it will be January 19.  The deadline for registration is January 5 on Eventbrite.  This one-day training will cover all aspects of the Harmonized Audit and any changes for 2021.  NJDA will also review problems areas found during 2020 audits.

Blueberry Food Safety Training

The annual food safety training for blueberry growers will be held March 16.  There are no restrictions on the number of participants, but you must register through Eventbrite since the training will be virtual.  The deadline to register is March 2.  Look in the January and February newsletters for more details.

How to Register for Courses

All registration are being handle through Eventbrite, go to https://rutgersonfarmfoodsafety.eventbrite.com an signup.  If you are unable to register online contact Brandi at (856) 451-2800 x 1 or contact Brandi Williams at BRANDIWI@co.cumberland.nj.us.  Each course costs $50.00 to cover the certificate and materials.

 

Filed Under: Commercial Ag Updates, Food Safety, Fruit, Vegetable Crops