Improving Food Safety Practices for Under-served Asian Refugee Farmers

Long Term GoalsTTCF staff, farmers, stakeholders and partners have set the following long term goals for theFSOP grant: 1) Create a comprehensive FSMA compliant food safety plan and accompanyingculturally and linguistically appropriate trainings that address the specific food safety riskspresent at TTCF 2)Farmers begin FSMA compliant practices and continue improving practiceseach year in order to reach full FSMA compliance 3) Ensure the continued success and growth offarmer businesses by preventing potential food safety outbreaks and opening new wholesalemarket outlets.ObjectivesTTCF will accomplish these goals by implementing the following major objectives 1) Analyze the food safety risks encountered by socially disadvantaged refugee farmers on the TTCF incubator, including those posed by entry, intermediate, and advanced refugee farmers all sharing postharvest handling infrastructure at the incubator farm; 2) Address food safety risks presented by the recent rapid growth of TTCF market outlets such as CSA and farmers' markets including ensuring appropriate pre and postharvest handling practices for the 58 specialty crops grown for these markets; 3) Identify and address the specific food safety risks posed by a pastured poultry system integrated with vegetable production and develop preventative protocols and food safety risk management practices informed by FSMA regulations; 4) Help refugee farmers begin utilizing wholesale market outlets by identifying and addressing food safety requirements for accessing larger wholesale markets; 5) Analyze the food safety risks of agritourism activities to ensure food safety planning includes visitor compliance; 6) Develop a comprehensive food safety plan and culturally and linguistically appropriate training materials, record keeping tools, andinternal auditing plans that are aligned with FSMA standards and ensure socially disadvantaged refugee farmers are able to understand and strengthen their food safety practices; 7) Deliver training and technical assistance to all refugee farmers at the TTCF incubator farm to help them address gaps in knowledge, improve their food safety standards, and leverage these improvements to access new markets.