Produce Safety Alliance (PSA) Grower Training

Passing this on from the VT Agency of Agriculture. All farms subject to the Food Safety Modernization Act are required to have at least one supervisor or responsible party who has completed this or a similar training approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Want to know if you’re covered under FSMA? Here are the guidelines for exemption fromthe Vermont Produce Program:

Exempt Produce Farms

A produce farm is eligible for a qualified exemption under the Produce Safety Rule when:

· The farm’s average annual food sales over the past 3 years are less than $500,000. (Adjusted for inflation, the average 3 year value for 2019–2021 is $584,908.)

AND

· More than 50% of the farm’s average annual food sales over the past 3 years were to qualified end-users, which include the consumer of the food OR a retail food establishment, such as a restaurant or grocery store, located in Vermont or within 275 miles of the farm.

Qualified Exempt farms must meet recordkeeping and labeling requirements to maintain the exemption. Find the Qualified Exemption Self-Certification Form on our website at agriculture.vermont.gov/food-safety/produce-program/exempt-produce-farms.

Excluded Produce Farms

Farms that meet one of the following criteria are excluded and are not required to meet Produce Safety Rule requirements or undergo farm inspections.

· Farms with less than $25,000 in average annual produce sales over the past 3 years. (Adjusted for inflation, the average 3 year value for 2019–2021 is $29,245.)

· Farms that grow produce only for personal consumption.

· Farms that only grow produce that FDA considers “rarely consumed raw.”

Even if your farm is exempt or excluded, this valuable information to know, I have done the training myself and found it very useful. -TB

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The Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets (VAAFM) Produce Program and University of Vermont (UVM) Extension are excited to announce registration for our annual Produce Safety Alliance (PSA) Grower Training.

Here is the registration link.

This training is for all growers, gleaners, farmworkers, and those supporting farms to cover produce safety topics under the FDA Produce Safety Rule including:

  • Introduction to Produce Safety
  • Worker Health, Hygiene, and Training
  • Soil Amendments
  • Wildlife, Domesticated Animals, and Land Use
  • Agricultural Water (Part 1: Production Water; Part 2: Postharvest Water)
  • Postharvest Handling and Sanitation
  • How to Develop a Farm Food Safety Plan

If you or someone on your farm has already completed the PSA Grower Training, consider attending as a refresher or sending another employee. We will be delivering the updated Production Water Module. The course certificate is issued to the individual, rather than the farm. Not only can this training enrich your farm’s produce safety culture and employees’ working knowledge, but it also serves as professional development that your employees can carry with them throughout their farming careers.

This training also satisfies the FDA Produce Safety Rule requirement for covered farms that “at least one supervisor or responsible party” completes food safety training “recognized as adequate” by FDA (21 C.F.R. 122.22(c)).

To receive your certificate, you must attend all components of the training:

  • March 5 from 9AM to 12PM – ONLINE
  • March 6 from 8:30AM to 4PM – IN PERSON at the Berlin UVM Extension Office

We will be providing lunch, refreshments, and snacks for the in-person training. The course will be delivered in English and participants will receive an English-Language PSA Grower Training manual.

AGR.Produce or 802-828-2433.

Warmly,

The Vermont Produce Program