Webinars on fruit, vegetable food safety set for November
October 22, 2013
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue Extension online workshops helping fruit and vegetable farmers meet food safety regulations should they want to sell their products to restaurants, wholesalers, food hubs and other operations will continue in November.
The webinar series "Good Agricultural Practices from A to Z" will be held Nov. 14, 19 and 21 at numerous locations in Indiana. It will include sessions on health and hygiene, water quality and treatment, animals and animal products, sanitation on the farm, documentation and recordkeeping, and farm food safety plans.
Jodee Ellett, Purdue Extension's local foods coordinator, noted that farmers wanting to sell to restaurants, brokers, wholesalers, food hubs and some auctions will be required to not only register with the state as a wholesale fruit and vegetable wholesaler but also show proof of knowledge of food safety Good Agricultural Practices, known in the industry as GAPs. Attending "Good Agricultural Practices from A to Z" will meet this requirement of the new regulations.
Attendance at all three sessions is required to receive a GAPs Certificate of Attendance from Purdue Extension.
As with webinars held in July, the target audience is current and prospective fruit and vegetable farmers, market gardeners, and managers of community gardens that distribute produce to the public.
The workshops' goal is to present current science-based information on how to reduce risk of contamination during production of fruits and vegetables, as well as provide practical knowledge on planning and documenting food safety practices from planting through marketing.
The webinars will be given 1-4 p.m. Eastern time (noon to 3 p.m. Central).
Locations are as follows:
* Bartholomew County Extension Office, 1971 State St., Columbus. Contact: Kris Medic, 812-379-1665, mailto:kmedic@purdue.edu.
* Clinton County Extension Office, 1111 S. Jackson St., Frankfort. Contact: Curt Emanuel, 765-659-6380, mailto:cemanuel@purdue.edu.
* Delaware County, Minnetrista, 1200 N Minnetrista Pkwy, Muncie. Contact: Michael O'Donnell, 765-747-7732, modonnel@purdue.edu.
* Elkhart County 4-H Fairgrounds Purdue Extension Office (Nov. 14 and 19) and Community Building (Nov. 21), 17746 County Road 34, Goshen. Contact: Jeff Burbrink, 574- 533-0554, jburbrink@purdue.edu.
* Floyd County Extension Office, 3000 Technology Ave., Suite L2110, New Albany. Contact: Gina Anderson, 812-948-5470, gmanders@purdue.edu.
* Fountain and Warren counties, Warren County Learning Center, 28 E 2nd St., Williamsport. Contacts: Courtney Steirwalt, 765-793-2297, dickerso@purdue.edu, or Kelly Pearson, kppearson@purdue.edu.
* Hancock County Extension Office, 802 N. Apple St., Greenfield. Contact: Roy Ballard, 317-462-1113, rballard@purdue.edu.
* Hendricks County Extension Office, 1900 E. Main St., Danville. Contact: Jon Cain, 317-745-9266, mailto:joncain@purdue.edu.
* Jefferson County Extension Office, 315 Jefferson St., Madison. Contact: Lonnie Mason, 812-265-8919, mailto:lmason1@purdue.edu.
* Kosciusko County Extension Office, 202 W. Main St., Warsaw. Contact: Kelly Heckaman, 574-372-2340, kheckaman@purdue.edu.
* LaGrange County Office, 114 W. Michigan St., Suite 10, LaGrange. Contact: Steve Engleking, 260-499-6334, sengleking@purdue.edu.
* Marshall County Extension Office, 112 W. Jefferson St., Room 304, Plymouth. Contact: Robert Yoder, 574-935-8545, ryoder@purdue.edu.
* Monroe County Extension Office, 3400 S. Walnut St., Bloomington. Contact: Amy Thompson, 812-349-2575, mailto:afthompson@purdue.edu.
*Switzerland County Extension office, 708 W. Seminary St., Vevay. Contact: Weaver Kyle Weaver, 812-427-3152, keweaver@purdue.edu.
* Tippecanoe County: Purdue University Campus Agricultural Administration Building, Room 121, 615 W. State St., West Lafayette. Contact: Jodee Ellett, 765-494-0349, mailto:jellett@purdue.edu.
* Vanderburgh County Extension Office (Posey County combined), 13301 Darmstadt Road, Evansville. Contact: John Neufelder, 812-838-1331, neufelde@purdue.edu (Posey), or Larry Caplan, 812-435-5287, mailto:lcaplan@purdue.edu.
* Vermillion County Extension Office, 255 S Main St. (Courthouse), Newport. Contact: Phil Cox, 765-492-5335, cox119@purdue.edu.
* Vigo County, Ivy Tech Workforce Development, 1700 Industrial Drive, Room T-100, Terre Haute. Contact: Jim Luzar, 765-364-6363, mailto:luzar@purdue.edu.
Those interested in participating, needing special accommodations or having questions should email Ellett at jellett@purdue.edu or their host in the above.
Registration, due by Nov. 5, costs $30 per person and $10 for each additional person from the same farm. Those who would like to join from another location with high-speed Internet connection can do so at no charge.
Participants can register online at https://purdue.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_brw5RrwGUeSqDI1 or pick up a registration form at their host office.
Writer: Keith Robinson, 765-494-2722, mailto:robins89@purdue.edu
Source: Jodee Ellett, jellett@purdue.edu, 765-494-0349
Ag Communications: (765) 494-2722;
Keith Robinson, robins89@purdue.edu
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