Success StoryProduce Safety Alliance Grower training for Kentucky growers to fulfill the federal FSMA Produce Safety Rule regulatory requirement
Produce Safety Alliance Grower training for Kentucky growers to fulfill the federal FSMA Produce Safety Rule regulatory requirement
Author: Paul Vijayakumar
Planning Unit: Animal and Food Sciences
Major Program: Local Food Systems
Outcome: Long-Term Outcome
The FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) is a federal law transforming the nation’s food safety system. The “Standards for the Growing, Harvesting, Packing, and Holding of Produce for Human Consumption”, aka “Produce Safety Rule (PSR),” establishes for the first time, science-based minimum standards for the safe growing, harvesting, packing, and holding of fruits and vegetables grown for human consumption. The rule is part of the agency’s ongoing efforts to implement the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act. The final rule went into effect on January 26, 2016. Growers need to attend PSA Grower training in order to fulfill FSMA Produce Safety Rule regulatory requirement. The FSMA Produce Safety Rule requires at least one supervisor or responsible party from the farm to complete a food safety training at least equivalent to that received under a standardized curriculum recognized as adequate by FDA conducted by qualified trainers. Dr. Paul Priyesh, the PSA lead trainer for the state and his produce safety team conducted 4 PSA grower trainings (2 remote and 2 in-person) from July 2023- June 2024 across the state of Kentucky. 60 participants, which included 10 growers from the Amish and Mennonite population successfully completed the program. Pre-test data showed that 13.5 percent of the participants scored 75% or above, but the post-test data showed a significant increase in knowledge, with 75 percent of the participants scoring 75% or above.
Stories by Paul Vijayakumar
FSMA-PSR Food Safety Plan Writing Pilot Workshop for Plain Community Growers
The FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA)is a federal law transforming the nations food safety sy... Read More
Produce Safety Alliance Grower Training to meet the FDA's FSMA PSR requirement
The FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA)is a federal law transforming the nations food safety sy... Read More
Stories by Animal and Food Sciences
Meeting the educational needs of small egg producers
There has been a trend in Kentucky for many nontraditional clientele to have small egg producing flo... Read More
Horse Academy for Chinese Students
The University of Kentucky China Initiatives Office approached me regarding offering a horse program... Read More
© 2024 University of Kentucky, Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment