By Ashley Middleswarth, FAPC Communications Graduate Student

(Stillwater, Okla. – Jan. 15, 2015) Oklahoma State University’s Robert M. Kerr Food & Agricultural Products Center and the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry are partnering to provide Food Safety for Small Farms and Businesses Training.

This one-day training is designed for small fruit and vegetable producers and processors, dairies and milk processors, shell egg producers, and feed manufacturers, and will provide necessary knowledge of preventive controls and food security to assist producers in meeting the requirements of the Food Safety Modernization Act, or FSMA.

“Food safety is not just the responsibility of the food manufacturing sector,” said Chuck Willoughby, FAPC business and marketing relations. “Food safety begins at the farm level and is carried through every step of the supply chain. Monitoring and proper record keeping are just as important at the beginning as it is by the time the consumer purchases the final product.”

Four trainings and locations are set for 2015 with the first one kicking off on Feb. 5 at the Mid-American Technology Center in Wayne, Okla. The other dates and locations include March 5 in Enid, April 9 in Shawnee and May 7 in Okmulgee.

Topics covered during the trainings included the FSMA, pathogens of concern to the food and feed chains, written food safety plans, liability/insurance, principles in sanitation, monitoring and record keeping, and food defense.

This is the third year FAPC and ODAFF have provided these food safety-training sessions, which were made possible by the use of funds from a grant ODAFF’s Food Safety Division received from the Food and Drug Administration.

“We approached FAPC to see if they would be interested in partnering with us to develop and deliver this training for small Oklahoma food producers,” said Stan Stromberg, ODAFF food safety division director. “This is an opportunity for small Oklahoma food producers to get an introduction of the requirements of both the proposed Food Safety Modernization Act and food safety plans.”

All sessions take place from 8:45 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. in their respective locations. The registration fee is $25 per person, and the registration deadline is one week prior to the training. To register online, please visit http://fapc.biz/workshops/fst3 or call Karen Smith, FAPC workshop coordinator, at 405-744-6277. Participants must also complete an online pretest prior to attending, which is available at https://apps.dasnr.okstate.edu/fapc.okstate.edu/fstpretest1/view.

FAPC has programs, projects and activities that support innovation and growth of the food and agricultural business sectors of Oklahoma, increase food safety for consumers, assist in the development of students for careers in the Oklahoma food industry, and support and enhance the impact of the center on the state, region and nation.

To learn more about FAPC, visit www.fapc.biz or call 405-744-6071.

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Oklahoma State University is a modern land-grant system of interdisciplinary programs that prepares students for success. OSU is America’s Brightest Orange. Through leadership and service, OSU is preparing students for a bright future and building a brighter world for all. As Oklahoma’s only university with a statewide presence, OSU improves the lives of people in Oklahoma, the nation and the world through integrated, high-quality teaching, research and outreach. OSU has more than 36,000 students across its five-campus system and more than 24,000 on its combined Stillwater and Tulsa campuses, with students from all 50 states and around 120 nations. Established in 1890, OSU has graduated more than 245,000 students to serve Oklahoma, the nation and the world.