Colorado Produce Safety Collaborative: Regionally Adapted Training and Outreach

This project will increase Colorado produce grower understanding and adoption of produce food safety practices through educational outreach, developed resources, and peer to peer learning.1. Increasing growers' food safety understanding regarding:the importance of produce safety and the role of GAPscreating a food safety cultureconducting a risk assessmentdocumenting policies, procedures and other records that support a food safety program2. Increasing and enhancing education on new regulations, buyer requirements, and tools regarding:the Produce Safety Rulehow to develop a food safety plan3. Increasing growers' ability to implement tools and risk management strategies to:locate up-to-date resources on agricultural water management and testingdevelop their own worker training program in the appropriate language and format for their workers (employees, interns, apprentices, volunteers)use best practices for taking and interpreting water samplesmix and manage sanitizersdevelop individual food safety plans4. Developing peer groups to support and educate growers, to share their experiences and knowledge with other Colorado growers through:a producer advisory committeea regional exchange programenhanced content made available on social media platformsmentoring program