Progress 09/01/18 to 08/31/22

Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience for the outreach efforts of the project are limited resource socially disadvantaged small farmers in the Santa Clara, San Benito, and Santa Cruz County regions. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) and CDFA Western Regional Webinar on Proposed Ag Water Rule, online webinar, 3/11/2022 Produce Safety Alliance Workgroup in Spanish: Grupo de educadores sobre la inocuidad de los productos agrícolas frescos en español Capacitación de adultos generando un ambiente participativo y de aprendizaje exitoso, online meeting, 4/27/2022 Western Regional Center to Enhance Food Safety (WRCEFS) 2022 Annual Food Safety Conference, in Las Cruces, New Mexico, 5/4/2022-5/5/2022: Gained information on Produce Safety Updates. Conducted sample SOPs Produce Safety Alliance Workgroup in Spanish: Grupo de educadores sobre la inocuidad de los productos agrícolas frescos en español--Manejo integrado de plagas e inocuidad de los productos agrícolas frescos, 07/08/22.Participated in this Produce Safety Alliance workgroup presented in Spanish to build community with other PSA members and learned tips and instruction on how to approach Integrated Pest Management and Food Safety on farms. International Association for Food Protection Annual Conference Pittsburgh, PA, July 31-August 3, 2022. Aparna Gazula attended the annual conference and was an invited speaker on the roundtable discussion on "Understanding and Overcoming Challenges in Helping Underrepresented Minority Audiences Meet the FSMA PSR 112.22(c) Training Requirements". The discussion was attended by more than 50 food safety professionals. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The evaluation results of the project outreach efforts were communicated to SDFs in Chinese and English at workshops. The evaluation results were presented at the 2022Western Regional Center to Enhance Food Safety Annual Meeting and at the 2022Annual Food Safety Outreach Program National Project Director's Meeting. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? The target audience for the outreach efforts of the project are limited resource socially disadvantaged small farmers in the Santa Clara, San Benito, and Santa Cruz County regions. We reached 280 limited resource, small scale, socially disadvantaged vegetable farmers via the following educational contacts: Phone calls: 55 Emails: 50 Farm-Visit: 22 One-on-one meetings: 29 Workshop attendees: 62 1. Provide customized technical assistance on food safety GAPs and FSMA Produce Safety Rule compliancerequirements to SDFs in the region through workshops, farm visits, one-on-one assistance, and tailgate meetings. Farm visits and one-on-one assistance: During the current reporting period we conducted 22on-farm food safetyassessments and provided one-on-one technical assistance to socially disadvantaged small farmers in the region. We helpedidentify key food safety risks on their farm, addressed the recordkeeping requirements to stay in compliance with FSMArequirements and suggested potential risk-management improvements that can be made. During these on-farm assessments,22 first-aid kits and 22 food safety record keeping templates binders were also distributed.During the current grant period we also distributed 22 worker health & hygiene kits that included foodsafety related resource materials to emphasize the role that worker health and hygiene plays in a farms' food safety risk. Theresource materials included hand sanitizing gel, disposable masks, reusable N-95 masks, and handwashing signage. 2. Develop culturally relevant food safety educational materials to meet the needs of SDFs. During the current reporting period we developed/updatedthree resource factsheets: Updated the English and Spanish factsheets "Introduction to the Food Safety Modernization Act Small Farms Program Document", "Ley de Modernización de la Inocuidad de los Alimentos de la FDA (Administración de Alimentos y Medicamentos)". Preparing for FSMA Inspections: Top 5 Recommendations for Small Farms:Translated the document into Simplified Chinese. Developed new factsheet:First aid kit supplies requirements (OSHA). (available in English, Simplified Chinese and Spanish) 3. Evaluate short-term and medium-term results through increase in knowledge and adoption of recommended food safety practices. Follow-up on-farm assessments were conducted to evaluate adoption of food safety risk mitigation practices on the farm including: monitoring for and mitigating wildlife and domestic animal activities, avoiding harvesting contaminated produce; maintaining GAPs related to farm worker health and hygiene during working activities; handwashing practices; not eating/smoking in the production field; appropriate storage of packaging materials; collecting and maintaining needed records for qualified exemption; and qualified exempt farmers meeting the required labelling requirements of produce packaging materials.

Publications

Progress 09/01/20 to 08/31/21

Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience for the outreach efforts of the project are limited resource socially disadvantaged small farmers in the Santa Clara, San Benito, and Santa Cruz County regions. Changes/Problems:The Covid-19 pandemic impacted fresh produce farms, and also brought challenges to the way food safety outreach was conducted. Starting from March 17th 2020, the shelter-in-place orders imposed in the region changed our food safety outreach work dramatically. Large group meetings were not permitted untill mid July, 2021.As our target clientele are not comfortable with online learning, distance outreach was not an option for this group. Starting in August 2020 and continuing into the current grant period,with the easing of restrictions on one-on-one meetings/meetings with non family members, we started doing FSMA On Farm Readiness Reviews (OFRRs/on-farm assessments) by scheduling one-on-one farm visits. Through these OFRRs, we distributed worker health and hygiene Covid-19 Kits, First Aid Safety Kits, PSA grower training education materials, and FSMA required recordkeeping templates/checklists (assembled into a FSMA Binder) to growers, provided technical assistance to growers on how to stay in compliance with FSMA. The OFRRs are still ongoing and we anticipate assisting several small farmers in the regions in the next several months. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Chinese LanguagePSA Grower Training:We collaborated with Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF) and University of Florida CooperativeExtension and provided a Chinese PSA growers training on August 25th and 26th that was attended by 69 Asian growers (18 Female and 51 Male) from the region.? How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The evaluation results of the project outreach efforts were communicated to SDFs in Chinese and English at workshops The evaluation results were presented at the 2021 Western Regional Center to Enhance Food SafetyAnnual Meeting and at the 2021Annual Food Safety Outreach Program National Project Director's Meeting. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?During the next reporting period we plan to do the following activities: Based on farmer classification, we plan to introduce Socially Disadvantaged Farmers (SDFs) tothe technical assistance and educational resources available to help them be in compliance with the FDA Produce SafetyRule. This will include assistance with Farmer type 1: Good Agricultural Practices; Farmer type 2: Record keeping, Labeling of packaging material, Demonstrating that criteria for qualified exempt are satisfied; Farmer type 3: Record keeping, Trainings on worker health and hygiene, water use, biological soil amendments, wild and domesticated animals and post-harvest activities, On-farm walk through assessment, Mock audit, Assist with OFRRs, Help correct deficits identified in OFRRs.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? The target audience for the outreach efforts of the project are limited resource socially disadvantaged small farmers in the Santa Clara, San Benito, and Santa Cruz County regions. We reached 280limited resource, small scale, socially disadvantaged vegetable farmers via the following educational contacts: 1. Phone calls: 33 2. Emails: 57 3. Text messages: 68 4. Farm-Visit: 52 5. One-on-one meetings: 1 6. Workshop attendees: 69 1. Provide customized technical assistance on food safety GAPs and FSMA Produce Safety Rule compliance requirements to SDFs in the region through workshops, farm visits, one-on-one assistance, and tailgate meetings. Chinese LanguagePSA Grower Training:We collaborated with Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF) and University of Florida CooperativeExtension and provided a Chinese language PSA GrowerTraining on August 25th and 26th that was attended by 69 Asian growers (18 Female and 51 Male) from the region. Farm visits and one-on-one assistance: During the current reporting period we conducted 52 on-farm food safety assessments and provided one-on-one technical assistance to socially disadvantaged small farmers in the region. We helped identify key food safety risks on their farm, addressed the recordkeeping requirements to stay in compliance with FSMA requirements and suggested potential risk-management improvements that can be made. During these on-farm assessments, 35 first-aid kits and 35 food safety record keeping templates binders were also distributed. We also assisted 15 qualified exempt farms to better understand the requirements for meeting qualification requirements and the required labelling of packaging materials. During the current grant period we also distributed 80 worker health & hygiene kits that included food safety related resource materials to emphasize the role that worker health and hygiene plays in a farms' food safety risk. The resource materials included hand sanitizing gel, disposable masks, reusable N-95 masks, and handwashing signage. 2. Develop culturally relevant food safety educational materials to meet the needs of SDFs. During the current reporting period we developed two resource factsheets. An extension publication on 'List of Laboratories in California for Food Safety Water Testing' was developed in English and translated into Chinese and shared with small farmers. The resource factsheet included a listing of all certified agriculture water testing labs in California, with detailed contact information, and type of water test. A second factsheet was developed about sanitizers in English and Chinese. The factsheet included information about the different types of sanitizers, their active ingredients, EPA registration number, whether labelled for use on on-porous food contact surfaces, labelled for use of fruit and vegetable wash water, OMRI listing, and suppliers in the region. We collaborated with UC Cooperative Extension Fresno County and developed a food safety video in English addressing six on-farm food safety risk areas commonly identified during on-farm visit assessments. The video was also translated into Chinese and Spanish and shared with small farmers. 3. Evaluate short-term and medium-term results through increase in knowledge and adoption of recommended food safety practices. The Chinese language PSA Grower Training was attended by 69 growers. Pre-post testtraining evaluations showed that94.2% (65 out of 69) of growers gained knowledge on food safety and Produce Safety Rule requirements through the training. After attending the training, growers'on average increased theirknowledge by 33%, with increase in knowledge ranging from 8%-96% according to the pre-post test training evaluationscores. Follow-up on-farm assessments were conducted to evaluate adoption of food safety risk mitigation practices on the farm including: monitoring for and mitigating wildlife and domestic animal activities, avoiding harvesting contaminated produce; maintaining GAPs related to farm worker health and hygiene during working activities; handwashing practices; not eating/smoking in the production field; appropriate storage of packaging materials; collecting and maintaining needed records for qualified exemption; and qualified exempt farmers meeting the required labelling requirements of produce packaging materials. As a result of receiving "worker health and hygiene kits" from project staff, farm workers started wearing masks when working around other workers (observed by project staff during farm-visits).

Publications

Progress 09/01/19 to 08/31/20

Outputs
Target Audience:We reached 679 limited resource, small scale, socially disadvantaged vegetable farmers via the following educational contacts: Phone calls: 300 Emails: 15 Text messages: 200 Farm-Visit: 15 One-on-one meetings: 70 Workshop attendees: 79 Changes/Problems:The Covid-19 pandemic impacted fresh produce farms, and also brought challenges to the way food safety outreach was conducted. Starting from March 17th 2020, the shelter-in-place orders imposed in the region changed our food safety outreach work dramatically. We had to cancel the Produce Safety Alliance Growers Training workshop which was scheduled for April 2nd and 3rd, 2020. As our target clientele are not comfortable with online learning, distance outreach was not an option for this group. During March-July period, we translated and shared information about worker health and hygiene related practices as affected by Covid-19 including required posting of signage to local Asian farms. We developed Covid-19 social distancing signs specifically for Asian growers, and assembled example worker health and hygiene Covid-19 kits for small farms in the region. Starting in August 2020 with the easing of restrictions we started doing FSMA On Farm Readiness Reviews (OFRRs/on-farm assessments) by scheduling one-on-one farm visits. Through these OFRRs, we distributed worker health and hygiene Covid-19 Kits, First Aid Safety Kits, PSA grower training education materials, and FSMA required recordkeeping templates/checklists (assembled into a FSMA Binder) to growers, provided technical assistance to growers on how to stay in compliance with FSMA. The OFRRs are still ongoing and we anticipate assisting several small farmers in the regions in the next several months. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?A workshop on Food Safety Modernization Act (Produce Safety Rule) was held by UCCE Small Farm Advisor (Aparna Gazula) and UCCE Small Farm Specialist (Qi Zhou) on Sep 5th, 2019 from 12:30 pm to 2:30 pm. The workshop was attended by 20 growers (2 female and 18 male). This workshop covered multiple topics relating to FSMA, including: Produce Safety Rule, covered produce, exclusions and exemptions, modified requirements and required records, three farm categories and compliance dates. 3 follow up small group "one-on-one meetings" were hold on Sep 11th, Sep 18th and Oct 2nd, 2019 to introduce FSMA and Produce Safety Rule to growers that couldn't make it to the Sep 5th, 2019 workshop and to help the growers complete the California Department of Food and Agriculture required FSMA inspection forms. These one-on-one meetings were attended by 57 growers. Post-program evaluation surveys were conducted after the workshop and one-on-one meetings. The survey results were as follows: As a result of the Sep 5th workshop, 11 farmers indicated: 11 small farmers stated that Food Safety is important to their business. 11 small farmers stated that the workshop meet their expectations. 9 small farmers stated that the workshop increased their knowledge on food safety. 9 small farmers stated that they will recommend this workshop to others. 3 small farmers stated that they will definitely ask help from UCCE in the future regarding Food Safety Modernization Act related questions. As a result of the one-on-one meetings, 37 farmers indicated the following: 37 small farmers stated that Food Safety is important to their business. 37 small farmers stated that the workshop meet their anticipation. 37 small farmers stated that the workshop increased their knowledge on food safety. 37 small farmers stated that they will recommend this workshop to others. 36 small farmers stated that they will definitely ask help from UCCE in the future regarding Food Safety Modernization Act related questions. The Bay Area Chrysanthemum Growers Association Continuing Education Meeting workshop was held on December 9th, 2019 from 1:30 pm to 4:30 pm was attended 59 growers. Post workshop evaluation surveys were completed by 38 growers and the results were as follows: 100% of the attendees increased their knowledge of FSMA food safety practices. 100% of the attendees intend to adopt information presented at the workshop. A 2-days PSA Growers Training was planned, advertised, and scheduled to be held on Thursday & Friday, April 2nd & 3rd, 2020 from 8:30 am to 5 pm. However, due Covid-19 shelter-in-place restrictions that were imposed in the region the workshop was cancelled. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The evaluation results of the project outreach efforts were communicated to SDFs in Chinese and English at workshops The evaluation results were presented at the 2020 Western Regional Center to Enhance Food Safety 4th Annual Meeting and at the 2020 Annual Food Safety Outreach Program National Project Director's Meeting. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?During the next reporting period we plan to conduct Workshops on FSMA: Review FSMA Produce Safety Rule Regulatory Compliance Requirements. Based on farmer classification, we plan to introduce Socially Disadvantaged Farmers (SDFs) to the technical assistance and educational resources available to help them be in compliance with the FDA Produce Safety Rule. This will include assistance with Farmer type 1: Good Agricultural Practices; Farmer type 2: Record keeping, Labeling of packaging material, Demonstrating that criteria for qualified exempt are satisfied; Farmer type 3: Record keeping, Trainings on worker health and hygiene, water use, biological soil amendments, wild and domesticated animals and post-harvest activities, On-farm walk through assessment, Mock audit, Assist with OFRRs, Help correct deficits identified in OFRRs.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? We reached 679 socially disadvantaged farmers via the following educational contacts: Phone calls: 300 Emails: 15 Text messages: 200 Farm-Visit: 15 One-on-one meetings: 70 Workshop attendees: 79 Farmer type 1 (less than $25,000): 0 farmer reached Farmer type 2 (Qualified exempt): 3 farmers reached 1.Farmers learned how to demonstrate their qualification for qualified exempt. 2.We provided them with technical assistance for filling the record keeping templates and checklists. 3.We helped these farmers to stay compliance with FSMA - required labelling of produce boxes. 4.We provided example worker health and hygiene Covid-19 kits to growers (including two bottles of hand sanitizer per farm, one reusable cloth mask and five N-95 masks per worker on each farm, and a laminated N-95 Use Guidelines poster and a laminated CAL/OSHA COVID-19 Daily Checklist for Agricultural Employers poster). Farmer type 3 (Covered): 12 farmers reached 1.We translated PSA Growers Training presentations Module 1 to Module 7 into Simplified Chinese and distributed to growers. 2.We translated recordkeeping templates and checklist into Simplified Chinese, putting all forms together into a FSMA binder and distributed to growers. 3.We provided technical assistance for filling the recordkeeping templates and checklist, educated the growers why the documentation is needed and how to fill the forms. 4.We provided On-Farm Readiness Reviews (OFRRs/on-farm assessments), and correct deficits identified in OFRRs. 5.We provided one compliant First-Aid-Kit to each farm along with guidelines about the requirements for adequate first-aid materials and required recordkeeping. 6. We provided one Covid-Kit to each farm (including one reusable cloth mask and five N-95 mask per worker, two bottles of hand sanitizer, and a laminated N-95 Use Guidelines poster and a laminated CAL/OSHA COVID-19 Daily Checklist for Agricultural Employers poster).

Publications

Progress 09/01/18 to 08/31/19

Outputs
Target Audience: Nothing Reported Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The bilingual project scientist hired in August, 2019 has an effective start date of September 3, 2019. We have a Food Safety Meeting scheduled for September 5th, 2019. The information at this meeting will be presented in Chinese. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Nothing Reported What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?During the next reporting period we plan to conduct Workshops on FSMA: Review FSMA Produce Safety Rule Regulatory Compliance Requirements. Based on farmer classification, we plan to introduce Socially Disadvantaged to the technical assistance and educational resources available to help them be in compliance with the FDA Produce Safety Rule. This will include assistance with Farmer type 1: Good Agricultural Practices; Farmer type 2: Record keeping, Labeling of packaging material, Demonstrating that criteria for qualified exempt are satisfied; Farmer type 3: Record keeping, Trainings on worker health and hygiene, water use, biological soil amendments, wild and domesticated animals and post harvest activities, On-farm walk through assessment, Mock audit, Assist with OFRRs, Help correct deficits identified in OFRRs.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? The project outreach activities was dependent on the hiring of a bilingual project assistant to assist with outreach and implementation of the project's scope of work in Santa Clara, San Benito, and Santa Cruz counties. As the Project Director I advertised for and conducted recruitment interviews for this position. We had two failed searches and finally in August, 2019 we were able to successfully hire a project scientist to work with the PD on this project. An outreach workshop to the Chinese growers in the Santa Clara and San Benito regions has been scheduled for September 5th, 2019. The flyers for the workshop were developed in Chinese and the promotion/advertising of the workshop is being done with the help of the Bay Area Chrysanthemum Grower's Association.

Publications