The Ohio Department of Agriculture and The Ohio State University Extension, Fayette County are announcing an upcoming Produce Safety Alliance (PSA/FSMA) Grower Training course.

The course is to be held on Oct. 15 at the Fayette County Extension Office meeting room, 1415 US Highway 22 S.W. in Washington Court House.

The training will be one day starting at 9 a.m. There is no cost for Ohio produce growers. All location specific COVID requirements will need to be followed. Lunch will be provided for producers attending the program.

The PSA Grower Training Course is one way to satisfy the FSMA Produce Safety Rule requirement in which states, “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.”

The course will cover basic produce safety; worker health, hygiene, and training; soil amendments; wildlife, domesticated animals, and land use; agricultural water (both production and post-harvest); post-harvest handling and sanitation; and developing a farm food safety plan. As a participant you can expect 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; how to begin implementing produce safety practices on the farm; parts of a farm food safety plan and how to begin writing one; and requirements in the FSMA Produce Safety Rule and how to meet them.

There will be time for questions and discussion, so participants should come prepared to share their experiences and produce safety questions.

To receive a completion certificate, a participant must be present for the entire training and submit the appropriate paperwork to their trainer at the end of the course. Course completion certificates will be mailed to all participants.

Contact Matt Fout at (614) 600-4272 or [email protected] to register for the course. For additional questions please contact Ken Ford, ANR Extension Educator for Fayette County, at 740-335-1150 or at [email protected].