Develop hands-on training to evaluate and reduce microbial food safety risk associated with agriculture water

The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Produce Safety Rule (PSR) requires that all agricultural water must be safe and of adequate sanitary quality for its intended use. Several methods are currently available for water treatment such as chlorination, chlorine dioxide, ozone, filtration and UV treatments. However, not all the methods are suitable for on-farm surface water treatment due to their complexity and variability in effectiveness. Fruit and vegetable producers using surface water to irrigate crops are required to have appropriate water treatments in place that do not leave any chemical residue. The overall goal of this project is to reduce the food safety risk associated with the surface water source in Louisiana. The LSU AgCenter has developed and validated several on-farm water treatment methods using chlorine dioxide, ultraviolet-C light, and zeolite water filtration system. To achieve our goal, we will use the results from our on-farm studies to develop hands-on training, tools, and resources for fresh produce growers that rely on surface water for irrigation. The specific objectives are: 1) Develop and deliver a one-day agriculture water safety curriculum integrated with hands-on training 2) Evaluate the impact of education and training programs. The LSU AgCenter and Southern University extension programs will work in collaboration with the Southern Center, Produce Safety Alliance (PSA), Louisiana Department of agriculture and forestry, local food hubs, non-governmental organizations, other community-based organizations to carry out the training programs consistent with FSMA Produce Safety Rule requirements.