The major milestones summarized at the end of this newsletter have shaped the development of the curriculum content, structure of trainings for growers and trainers, and the trainer certification process (still in development). The curriculum was subjected to three open review periods and vetted by members of the Executive and Steering Committees as well as a number of growers, industry members, and educators who were interested in providing constructive feedback. As a result, the PSA piloted two programs with the developed curriculum to evaluate its' effectiveness and appropriateness with two audiences, prospective trainers and produce growers. We are currently in the process of reviewing the evaluation information collected at both pilots, but a brief summary of each program is below.

Pilot Train-the-Trainer

December 17-18, 2014, Geneva, NY

Thirty-eight individuals including produce growers, members of academia, regulators, and produce industry members convened at the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva, NY to evaluate the PSA's proposed Train-the-Trainer program, curriculum materials, and trainer certification process. We cannot thank these individuals enough for their time, effort, and constructive feedback throughout the two day pilot in effort to better refine the final program for national launch. The feedback we received was very positive and we have been working to streamline the curriculum's slide sets and teaching notes. The Train-the-Trainer program will include two days of classroom instruction and will cover discussions of each curriculum module, principles of adult education, considerations for developing training teams and hosting trainings, and available resources for growers from federal programs such NRCS, USDA-AMS, and the FDA. The PSA will continue discussions related to trainer qualifications and the certification process, so stay tuned for more details regarding how to become a trainer as well as dates and locations of Train-the-Trainer Programs. To date, the PSA does not have any Train-the-Trainer workshops scheduled, but we will send out updates through our general listserve as soon as they become available.

January 26, 2015, Hershey, PA

With the help of collaborators at Penn State University, the Produce Safety Alliance hosted a pilot training for fresh fruit and vegetable growers at the Mid-Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable Convention in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The pilot was open to the public and, despite the snowy weather, was attended by thirty-three fruit and vegetable growers. The PSA Grower Training will satisfy the FDA proposed Produce Safety Rule requirement that "at least one supervisor or responsible party from the farm to successfully complete food safety training at least equivalent to that received under the standardized curriculum recognized as adequate by the Food and Drug Administration (� 112.22(c))." The training for growers is a one day program, with seven curriculum modules including: An Introduction to Produce Safety; Worker Health, Hygiene, and Training; Soil Amendments; Wildlife, Domestic Animals, and Land Use; Agricultural Water; Postharvest Handling and Sanitation; and How to Write a Farm Food Safety Plan. The curriculum has been designed to teach growers how to assess food safety risks on the farm, implement practices to reduce risks, and understand the proposed FDA Produce Safety Rule requirements. The curriculum places an emphasis on small and very-small growers, providing solutions for limited resource farms.

We anticipate that this may be the first update letter that many of you are receiving, so welcome and please do not hesitate to contact Betsy Bihn ([email protected]) or Gretchen Wall ([email protected]) if you have any questions, comments, or feedback to provide. We strive to make all of our activities as transparent as possible to keep everyone informed and we are always open to feedback that will help make our educational programs and activities more effective and efficient.  For those of you who are not new and have been engaged with the PSA, we thank you for your continued support and interest in the program as it has continued to materialize over the past five years and as we prepare to launch nationally. Read on below for some of the PSA's major milestones since 2010. 

President's FY 2016 Budget Request: Key Investments for Implementing FSMA

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced that it is requesting an additional $109.5 million for the implementation of FSMA as part of President Obama's FY 2016 budget request, released to Congress on February 3, 2015. For more information, visit the FDA website at: http://www.fda.gov/Food/GuidanceRegulation/FSMA/ucm432576.htm

FDA Announces Competitive Grant Program with NIFA to Fund Food Safety Training, Education and Technical Assistance

On January 15, 2015, the FDA announced the availability of funding and requests applications for Grants to Enhance Food Safety: National Food Safety Training, Education, Extension, Outreach, and Technical Assistance Competitive Grants Program for fiscal year (FY) 2015 to address the needs of small and medium-sized farms, beginning farmers, socially disadvantaged farmers, small processors, or small fresh fruit and vegetable merchant wholesalers, especially as they relate to the implementation of the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA).  For more information, visit: http://www.fda.gov/Food/NewsEvents/ConstituentUpdates/ucm430492.htm

Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) Comment Period Open until March 13, 2015

The Environmental Impact Statement examines the effects that the FDA's proposed Produce Safety Rule may have on natural resources as well as how those impacts are weighed against other factors. The FDA released the draft EIS on January 12, 2015 to assesses the environmental and socioeconomic impacts for the provisions within the proposed Produce Safety Rule that the FDA has determined may significantly affect the quality of the human environment. The FDA held a public meeting on February 10, 2015 to discuss the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed rule and to solicit oral stakeholder and public comments. To learn more about the EIS, public meeting discussion, and how to submit comments, visit the following FDA web links.

EIS Homepage:

http://www.fda.gov/Food/GuidanceRegulation/FSMA/ucm396564.htm

Questions & Answers on the EIS with Annette McCarthy:

http://www.fda.gov/Food/GuidanceRegulation/FSMA/ucm429368.htm

• Elizabeth (Betsy) Bihn, Ph.D., PSA Director
• Robert Gravani, Ph.D., Professor
   

• Byron Beerbower, Compliance Manager, Michigan Dept. of Agriculture & Rural Development
• Stephen Stich, Director, Div. of Food Safety & Inspection New York State Dept. of Ag. & Markets
   

• Bob Ehart, NASDA Public Policy Director
• Dan Ragan, Director of the Food and Drug Protection Division of the NC Dept. of Ag.
   

• Samir Assar, Ph.D., Director Produce Safety Staff, FDA Center for Food Safety & Applied Nutrition
• Cathy McDermott, FDA Division of Federal State Relations
• We would like to recognize the contributions of Dr. Erick Snellman, policy analyst with the FDA Produce Safety Staff, and a valuable member of our Executive committee, who passed away in August 2014. 
   

• Jennifer Dougherty, Audit Programs Coordinator USDA, AMS, Fruit & Vegetable Programs
• Charles Parrot, Deputy Administrator, Fruit & Vegetable Program, USDA
• Leanne Skelton, USDA, AMS Fruit & Vegetable Programs, Senior Policy Analyst, FDA Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition
   

• Diane Gelburd, Ph.D., Special Assistant to the Chief for Strategic Natural Resources Initiatives
• Karen Lowell, Ph.D., Agronomist