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December 6, 2018
Hello Produce Safety Alliance Members:
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As 2018 comes to a close, the PSA team would like to express a heartfelt thanks to all of the produce growers, packers, educators, regulators, industry members, retailers, and others involved in the production of safe, wholesome fruits and vegetables to feed our families. The recent outbreaks associated with fresh produce highlight the importance that we continue to work together collaboratively towards the overall goal of protecting public health. In addition, your efforts help ensure fresh fruits and vegetables remain accessible to our communities and that farm operations are supported in their understanding and implementation of produce safety practices, keeping more farming businesses viable.
We are proud to share that since 2016, the PSA team along with national and international PSA Lead Trainers,Trainers, and Trainers-of-Trainers, have provided education to over 27,000 PSA Grower Training attendees and more than 2,000 PSA Train-the-Trainer attendees. Although there has been
significant outreach
effort in the past two years, there is still much work to be done. We appreciate your dedication to produce safety and look forward to continuing to provide science-based education, outreach, and technical assistance in 2019.
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Commenting on the Produce Safety Rule Draft Guidance
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The FDA has committed to holding
four public meetings
around the country at which the agency will have an opportunity to engage with stakeholders on the
Produce Safety Rule draft guidance
. Although registration for these events is now closed, you can still participate by submitting your comments to the docket. Two listening sessions occurred last month in Portland, OR and Anaheim, CA and two will be happening next week in Albany, NY and Atlanta, GA.
The comment period opened on November 1, 2018. Comments are due by April 22, 2019.
Written comments must be sent to:
Docket Management Staff (HFA-305)
Food and Drug Administration
5630 Fishers Lane, Room 1061
Rockville, MD 20852
All submissions received must include the Docket No. FDA-2018-D-3631.
The
https://www.regulations.gov
electronic filing system will accept comments until 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time at the end of April 22, 2019. Comments received by mail/hand delivery/courier (for written/paper submissions) will be considered timely if they are postmarked or the delivery service acceptance receipt is on or before that date.
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Survey to Inform Produce Safety Legal Research
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The Northeast Center to Advance Food Safety and the Center for Agriculture and Food Systems at Vermont Law School are working in partnership to
identify and answer critical legal questions
relating to the Food Safety Modernization Act Produce Safety Rule.
They are seeking feedback to help gather a comprehensive list of legal questions and concerns, allowing the advisory group to prioritize and articulate critical questions for further research and clarity. Once researched, the group will develop educational and outreach materials to extend this knowledge across the produce community.
The survey will close on
December 14, 2018
. All responses are anonymous; no identifying information will be collected. The survey will take between 5-20 minutes to complete.
Please forward to others and encourage participation before December 14th. The results of this survey will directly inform the legal questions researched. If you have any questions, please contact
Elizabeth Newbold
, Northeast Center to Advance Food Safety.
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USDA Announces $3.7 Million in Financial Assistance to Fruit and Vegetable Growers in 16 States
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The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
announced
on December 4, 2018 that it will provide $3.7 million of assistance to fruit and vegetable growers in 16 states through a GAP Assistance Program to enhance market access by defraying costs of undergoing voluntary USDA Harmonized Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) audits in 2019.
The full press release can be accessed
here
.
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Upcoming PSA Train-the-Trainer Courses
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Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico: 12/11/2018 - 12/12/2018
- Location: Blvd Eusebio Kino No 353, Hermosillo, Sonora 83010, Mexico
- Contact Information: Juan Silva, Phone: 5550166806
- Cost: Grower Course $6500 MEX; Trainer Course $11,000 MEX; Course #: MEX-181211-INT | Registration Information
- Training Language: Spanish
- Note: This course is an integrated course. Day 1 will include the PSA Grower Training. Day 2 will include information specific to trainers. Growers attend Day 1, trainers must attend both days.
College Station, TX, USA: 1/10/2019 - 1/11/2019
- Location: 474 Olsen Blvd., College Station, TX 77843, USA
- Contact Information: Kristin Woods, Phone: 251-753-1164
- Cost: $80; Course #: TX-190110-TR | Registration Information
- Training Language: English
Biloxi, MS, USA: 1/14/2019 - 1/15/2019
- Location: 1815 Popp's Ferry Road, Biloxi, MS 39532, USA
- Contact Information: Juan Silva, Phone: 662-325-3200
- Cost: Growers-$25; Trainers-$250 out-of-state, reduced in-state; Course #: MS-190114-INT
- Training Language: English
- Note: This course is an integrated course. Day 1 will include the PSA Grower Training. Day 2 will include information specific to trainers. Growers attend Day 1, trainers must attend both days.
Owensboro, KY, USA: 2/6/2019 - 2/7/2019
- Location: 4800 New Hartford Rd. #A, Owensboro, KY 42303, USA
- Contact Information: Don Stoeckel, Phone: 614-634-0884
- Cost: Growers: $10 in-state/$35 out-of-state; Trainers: Free UK Extension/$200 in-state, not UK Extension/$250 out-of-state; Course #: KY-190206-INT | Registration Information Coming Soon!
- Training Language: English
- Note: This course is an integrated course. Day 1 will include the PSA Grower Training. Day 2 will include information specific to trainers. Growers attend Day 1, trainers must attend both days.
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Notice: Holiday Shipping Schedule
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Plan for the holiday break now if you need manuals for trainings scheduled shortly after the New Year! Cornell University is closed for winter break, order fulfillment is impacted as follows.
- Orders placed before the end of day Wednesday, December 19, will ship before winter break.
- Orders placed after December 19 will ship on January 2, 2019.
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New Educational Resources
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Over the next few months, we will be posting a series of short videos on various produce safety topics. Many of these videos will be featured in our future online PSA Grower Training Course (launch date TBD), but we have also made the first video available on our
website
and recently translated the video into Spanish.
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