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June 24, 2024
Happy Summer Everyone!
Wow, it is hard to believe that we are already closing out the month of June. We hope the spring and start to summer have been going well for everyone. We know everyone is busy, so we hope this information saves you time or provides information you need to keep doing great things. This newsletter provides updated information on Revisions to FSMA Produce Safety Rule Subpart E: Agricultural Water, Spanish-language Online Grower Training Opportunities, a look at updated resources, a job opportunity, and PSA Team updates. As always, we are very excited about all the work going on in the produce safety world and look forward to being able to collaborate with you all in the months to come.
-The PSA Team
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Agricultural Water (Subpart E) | |
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Revisions to Produce Safety Rule Subpart E: Agricultural Water
The month of May brought a big change to the Produce Safety Rule. The revised requirements for Subpart E: Agricultural Water were published in the Federal Register on May 6th and in the same timeframe FDA released updated versions of additional resources. We encourage you to visit the FDA FSMA Final Rule on Pre-Harvest Agricultural Water page for current, authoritative information. Here are a few things that covered farms and educators should know.
· The revised Subpart E is similar to the proposed revision published in 2021.
· The revisions affect pre-harvest water (e.g., agricultural water used during growing non-sprout covered produce).
o There is a new sequence of provision numbers, but the requirements for agricultural water used for growing sprouts, and for harvesting, packing, and holding any covered produce (including sprouts) did not change.
· Once the revisions are implemented, decisions for using pre-harvest agricultural water will be made based on a written agricultural water assessment that is done at least once a year and requires decisions to be made about whether measures are needed to reduce risks. FDA created version 2 of the Agricultural Water Assessment Builder as a supporting tool.
· Testing pre-harvest agricultural water for generic E. coli concentration is not required, but it is a regulatory option for some situations. FDA emphasized that water test results are not to be used as the sole factor when making use decisions for pre-harvest agricultural water.
· Compliance dates start April 07, 2025 for farms that sell more than $500,000 total produce per year (three-year rolling average). Compliance dates are staggered by business size class, as in other parts of the Produce Safety Rule. Remember that compliance dates for sprouts have already arrived for most covered farms and compliance dates for harvest and postharvest water are stepping in now.
PSA is working hard to provide updates to our supporting resources for produce growers, produce safety educators, and others so they can stay informed about these revisions to the FSMA PSR.
· PSA sent a message to PSA Trainers on May 4th to guide delivery of PSA Grower Training Course content until updated training materials are available.
· A revised version of Module 5.1 in the PSA Grower Training Course is in a process of review, and will be made available as soon as possible.
o Once complete, PSA Trainers will receive another email on how to download the slides and handouts.
· The revisions to Subpart E affect many previously-released PSA resources as well as all modules of the PSA Grower Training Course.
o PSA has created a prioritized list for updating fact sheets and other resources; all of our products include version identification with a release date. Updated versions will have a release date after May 2024.
o Please note, the PSA Team has lost several personnel due to lack of funding so our ability to complete updates has been compromised. The Revised Module 5.1 is the priority as well as current cooperative agreement objectives.
· PSA will schedule webinars and other opportunities to share information and current understanding about the revised requirements of Subpart E as we are able.
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Spanish Language Grower Training | |
Seeking Spanish-Speaking Growers for Online PSA GT Course Pilot | |
The Produce Safety Alliance is offering an additional pilot of the Spanish Language Online Grower Training. This pilot course will be offered at no cost to the participants. This training is being offered specifically to Spanish-speaking growers. If you know of any growers that would benefit from participating in an Online Grower Training, please contact Mariana Villarreal Silva (mv378@cornell.edu ), with the PSA, to find out more details about this training. | |
PSA Sanitizer Web Tool
The updated PSA EPA-labeled Sanitizers for Produce web tool has been launched in English. The PSA Sanitizer Tool includes a compilation of EPA-labeled sanitizers labeled for fruit and vegetable washing and sanitizers labeled for non-porous food contact surfaces and irrigation water. This updated tool includes a searchable web-based format, resource updates of additional product labels (when available) and more complete identification of labeled uses. A video tutorial is available to provide clear instructions and guide effective use of this tool.
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Infiltration: A Food Safety Risk | |
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Don Stoeckel and Tommy Saunders worked with the Association of Food and Drug Officials and other co-authors from across the US to write a fact sheet Susceptibility of Produce to Infiltration from Harvest and Postharvest Water, available at the Food Safety Resource Clearinghouse.
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Southeast Region
Since returning to a full time position, after the conclusion of his parental leave, Tommy Saunders has had the opportunity to collaborate with various partners in the Southeast with their current training programs. Tommy also most recently attended the Association of Food and Drug Officials (AFDO) Annual Educational Conference, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He had the opportunity to attend 2 days of Produce Safety Specific sessions with many state, federal and academic partners and also served as a moderator. There were many produce safety topics discussed, some of which included conversations with controlled environment agriculture (CEA) growers and also how wild-foraged and farm raised mushrooms are handled under the Produce Safety Rule.
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Western Region
Collins Bugingo, who served as the Western Extension Associate covering the Southwest and Northwest regions, concluded his tenure with the PSA effective June 1st, 2024. Davis Blasini, one of our Spanish Language Extension Associates (SLEAs), has assumed his responsibilities as the Western Region Extension Associate. The positions for the Southwestern and Northwestern Regional Extension Associates will remain vacant pending additional PSA funding.
A message from Collins:
"Dear PSA Collaborators,
As I bid farewell to my role as the Northwestern and Western Extension Associate with the Produce Safety Alliance, I'm filled with gratitude for the incredible journey we've shared. Thank you for letting me be a part of your trainings, workshops, conferences and your to-go-to resource. Together, we've not only promoted safe crop production but also championed sustainability in agriculture.
Your unwavering dedication to these causes has been inspiring, and I'm deeply thankful for the collaboration and support you've shown me. While my role with the PSA has come to an end, I'm excited about the prospect of future collaborations in a different capacity, where we can continue our mission of advancing sustainable farming practices.
Thank you for being integral to this journey and for your friendship along the way.
Warm regards,
Collins Bugingo”
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Northeast Region
Donna Clements, PSA Coordinator and Northeast Extension Associate, had the opportunity to train with the University of Maryland, UMD Extension, UMD Agriculture Law Education Initiative (ALEI), and University of Maryland Eastern Shore at a PSA GT Course on May 18.
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Midwest Region
Laurie George, Midwest Regional Extension Associate, will be away from PSA on medical leave through the end of August. If you need assistance with produce safety related events or other PSA support in the North Central Region, please directly contact Don Stoeckel (dstoeckel@cornell.edu). If you need assistance with other questions/concerns, please contact Michele Humiston (mmc15@cornell.edu) at the Produce Safety Alliance.
Don is looking forward to working with the North Central Region’s amazing produce safety education teams over the summer and connecting educators with information and resources that are valuable to produce growers, packers, and others!
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Don Stoeckel, Special Projects lead at PSA, attended three Regional FSMA Center annual meetings this year. Most recently, he was in Hawaii for the Western Regional Center to Enhance Food Safety annual conference. At each of the annual meetings, Don collaborated with colleagues Annalisa Hultberg (University of Minnesota) and Phil Tocco (Michigan State University) to describe an agricultural water Risk Prioritization Tool the team developed with funding from USDA under the Food Safety Outreach Program. The tool was created prior to the revision to Subpart E: Agricultural Water and is based on Good Agricultural Practices and other science-based water quality management concepts. Though it will not match the requirements of the FSMA PSR agricultural water assessment, the tool can be used for education about risk factors that may affect water quality. The Risk Prioritization Tool is scheduled for public release on the Michigan State University Agrifood Safety web site in time for the International Association for Food Protection annual conference in July. Don, along with some of his PSA teammates spent time recently working on efforts related to FDA’s recent publication of the revised Subpart E. | |
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On June 17-18, Betsy Bihn (PSA Director), Tommy Saunders (SW REA), Mariana Villareal Silva (SLEA), Toria Melville (PSA Ext Aide), and Darrell McGuire (Deep South Food Alliance) hosted a remote PSA Grower Training Course for the Produce Safety Fellows, a project in collaboration with the Local Food Safety Collaborative. This was the beginning of the Produce Safety Fellows Program that will continue with a PSA Train-the-Trainer Course in Geneva, NY in August.
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As part of the PSA international objectives, PSA Spanish-Language Extension Associates (SLEA) Mariana Villarreal Silva, Laura Acuña-Maldonado, Yulie Meneses, and Davis Blasini coordinated and delivered a remote PSA Train-the-Trainer Course from May 6th to 9th. This course was tailored to serve food safety professionals and academics who offer extension and education services to melon, cilantro, and papaya growers from Mexico. Participants belong to different regions including Puebla, Sonora, Colima, Baja California, Chiapas, and Veracruz. Thanks to this effort, 18 TTT participants completed this course and became PSA Trainers. This training is essential to motivate new professionals to an educational approach to help growers, ensuring the widespread adoption of best practices and continuous improvement of food safety standards within the Mexican fresh produce exporting industries
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In May, PSA colleagues Betsy Bihn, Donna Clements, Don Stoeckel, Mariana Villarreal Silva, and PSA Trainer Rory Wang, in coordination with China FDA officers, delivered a PSA Grower Training course, simultaneously-translated to Chinese, to a diverse group of 30 growers and farmers, from different regions in China, during a 3-day remote session.
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In a collaboration effort, Dr. Lorena Medina from the Interamerican Institute of Cooperation in Agriculture (IICA), Tatiana Moreno from Naturacert Colombia, Yulie Meneses, and Davis Blasini offered a Remote PSA Grower Training course to 19 Colombian growers and produce professionals on May 27th and 28th. The course participants, representing various regions across Colombia (Quindio, Risaralda, Caldas, Antioquia, Cundinamarca, Boyaca, and Valle del Cauca), are involved in exporting bananas, avocados, and berries to the United States. This training underscores the crucial role of the collaboration between IICA, PSA, and local organizations in Latin America, as it ensures that every grower exporting fresh produce to the United States is equipped with the necessary information related to the Produce Safety Rule.
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Yulie Meneses and Davis Blasini, in collaboration with SENASA Honduras, organized and conducted a PSA Grower Training Course in Choluteca, Honduras, on May 23rd. As part of their efforts to develop local trainers, four PSA trainers from Honduras were invited to deliver the training with Davis and Yulie to 36 melon exporter growers. The collaboration with SENASA Honduras contributed to addressing the specific needs and challenges faced by melon growers in this country.
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Alaska Assistant State Vet
The Alaska Assistant State Vet position has been reposted and is currently open through 7/01/24. This office operates within the “One Health” model, which is demonstrated by their work with a diverse range of partner agencies on a variety of animal health, food safety, public health, and environmental health projects. This position participates in animal (domestic and wildlife) health programs and serves as the manager for Alaska’s Produce Safety, Grade “A” Dairy, and Animal Disease Traceability Programs. The ideal candidate would be someone who loves to work with partners, learn new things, and is comfortable with never being an expert in any one area.
Any interested candidates please reach out to Dr. Sarah Coburn to discuss the position further.
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