Expanding Food Safety Education in Massachusetts and Shifting From Voluntary to Regulatory Compliance

The goal of this project is to adapt UMass Extension produce safety training materials for vegetable and fruit growers to address the requirements of the Food Safety Modernization Act's Produce Rule, and to work with other agricultural organizations around the state to broaden the audience for training delivery. In the long term, we aim to establish a training program and curriculum that continues to meet and respond to the needs of MA produce growers by supporting and encouraging a culture of on-farm food safety. We will reach this goal by working toward the following objectives:Establish connection with NECAFS, the Northeast Regional Center, for reporting project outcomes.Establish a network of individuals at farm advocacy and educational service agencies who serve niche audiences within the state and can respond to grower questions and concerns about food safety requirements, and direct growers to the appropriate support.Align UMass outreach and training materials, including
UMass USDA-GAP/ Harmonized GAP Food Safety Manual and CQP checklists with FSMA Produce Rule.Develop new resources, including a standardized training curriculum that includes mechanisms for evaluating grower learning objectives and is adaptable to an interactive on-line course, research-based guidance on implementing practices on small and mid-sized farms, and resources designed to help our collaborators better serve the needs of their target audiences.Expand the audience for UMass food safety trainings to include vulnerable populations at risk for non-compliance with FSMA or basic on-farm food safety standards, previously not reached because of lack of market pressure to seek 3rd party certifications.Assess impacts of training on knowledge and behavior of target audiences with before and after evaluations and delayed follow-up evaluations, and use evaluation data to assess grower needs and design future programming to better address identified weaknesses.Increase farmer knowledge,
confidence and implementation of food safety practices, and scale-appropriate strategies for complying with regulations and best practices, and in obtaining appropriate assistance (e.g., Extension resources, one-on-one on-farm support, infrastructure improvement grant funds).