Progress 09/01/22 to 08/31/23

Outputs
Target Audience:Our target audiences include owners and operators of small and medium-sized farms, beginning farmers, socially disadvantaged farmers, small food processors, and small fruit and vegetable merchant wholesalers affected by FSMA rules. In addition to targeting the development of Lead Instructors and Trainers at consortium institutions, primary stakeholders from Federal and State regulatory agencies, NGOs, and other trade organizations, and collaborating institutions in the Southeast and around the country. Changes/Problems:This was the final year of a three-year grant with two no-cost extensions. This final fifth year was focused on hosting the two Southern Regional Center and one Lead Regional Communication Center meetings. The only issue we had was the time needed to re-budget this grant in order to host these meetings. While this took longer than expected, we were able to accomplish this, and the meetings were held without incident. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Training opportunities and professional development occurred at all three meetings held this year.The first was the semi-annual Southern Center meeting in Savannah, GA. Jan 5th. At this meeting, representatives from around the southern region discussed the previous year's accomplishments and discussed future needs, one of which was a discussion on a more standardized reporting of training activities. We also discussed the finalization of a manuscript that will evaluate the effectiveness of our pre- and post-test instrument and the possible development of a new evaluation instrument for future training. The FSOP National Project Directors' Meeting in Tampa, FL, May 31-June 1, 2023. Grant funds covered 100% of the costs for the directors' meeting inYear 5 of the SRC 2.0. At the meeting, 28 FSOP presentations were delivered in person, and a total of 87 FSOP abstracts representing all active FSOP grants in the US are included in the meeting's program guide and can be found athttps://conference.ifas.ufl.edu/fsop/documents/FSOP-2023-Program-Book-Online.pdf. This meeting was concurrently streamed to attendees who were not able to attend in person. Lastly, our final Southern Center semi-annual meeting, held in Toronto, CA,in conjunction with IAFP, was held on July 16th. This meeting's outcomes discussed the transition from second to third-year funding and discussed all current SRC activities. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The FSOP National Project Directors' proceedings are available on three sites: https://conference.ifas.ufl.edu/fsop/documents/FSOP-2023-Program-Book-Online.pdf https://sc.ifas.ufl.edu/lead-regional-coordination-center/(which links to the online program guide), and https://foodsafetyclearinghouse.org/(pending acceptance). This repository has been added to reach a wider audience. Minutes from the SC annual meeting in Toronto, CA, held in conjunction with IAFP, are located at:SC Semi Annual Meeting Minutes IAFP 2023. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?This is the final year of this grant, and this report will be the last for this project. We will now shift our training focus to our third round of funding (a separate project).

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? This grant received a second no-cost extension for the sole purpose of hosting and conducting the two semi-annual SC meetings to discuss past accomplishments and future needs and to host the National Program Directors' meeting. To this end, all three meetings were a success. The main role of training and curriculum development has been shifted to the thirdround of funding for this program. The thee meetings are as follows: The first was the semi-annual Southern Center meeting in Savannah, GA. Jan 5th. This meeting hosted representatives from around the southern region to discuss the previous year's accomplishments and discuss future needs. Under the auspices of the LRCC, the FSOP National Project Directors' Meeting was held in Tampa, FL, on May 31-June 1, 2023. 100% of the costs for the directors' meeting were covered by the extension for Year 5 of the SRC 2.0. At the meeting, 28 FSOP presentations were made, and a total of 87 FSOP abstracts are included in the meeting's program can be found athttps://conference.ifas.ufl.edu/fsop/documents/FSOP-2023-Program-Book-Online.pdf. Lastly, our final Southern Center semi-annualmeeting, held in Toronto, CA, held in conjunction with IAFP, was held on July 16th.

Publications

• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Food Safety Outreach Program: National Project Directors Meeting. Conference Proceedings. Tampa, FL May 30th to June 1st, 2023.

Progress 09/01/18 to 08/31/23

Outputs
Target Audience:Our target audiences include owners and operators of small and medium-sized farms, beginning farmers, socially disadvantaged farmers, small food processors, and small fruit and vegetable merchant wholesalers affected by FSMA rules. In addition to targeting the development of Lead Instructors and Trainers at consortium institutions, primary stakeholders from Federal and State regulatory agencies, NGOs, and other trade organizations, and collaborating institutions in the southeast and around the country. Changes/Problems:The biggest problem encountered during this project was the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic forced trainers to adapt by changing the format of the trainingto online delivery. Online training curricula had to be developed and approved. Because of the online teaching modality, both PSAand FSPCA trainings were modified to be delivered virtually. Despite these challenges, the grant team still reached nearly as many participants in Year 3 as it did in Years 1 and 2 for both PSA and FSPCA trainings. The pandemic also made it difficult for our partners at the SC and LRCC to travel to planned annual events. The teams adapted and were able to shift most of these events online. One unexpected benefit was unspent funds, due to the travel restrictions, were pooled and used to host the Annual National Project Director's Meeting held in Tampa, FL, in May/June 2023. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The SRC held eight meetings during a five-year period. Four annual meetings were held at the Southeast Regional Fruit & Vegetable Conference in Savannah, GA. The other four were semi-annual meetingsheld at the International Association of Food Protection Conference. A summary of activities and outputs is provided in Table 1. Table 1. Summary of outputs during the grant period of September 1, 2018 - August 31, 2023 Output Final Details Number of PSA workshops conducted 244 Number of PSA participants 4,099 Number of FSPCA workshops conducted 21 Number of FSPCA participants 332 Number of train-the-trainer workshops offered to PSA trainers, PSA lead trainers, and FSPCA Lead instructors 17 Number of continuing education opportunities offered Advanced PSA training was developed. Dissemination of regional training materials on the Southern Region website and/or the NE Clearinghouse PSA Module 5 supplemental material is available as a resource on the SC website; six SC add-ons and past event resources are available on SRC site; 12 remote PSA training resources are posted on SRC site (sc.ifas.ufl.edu) Number of alternative and modified food safety training curricula, add-ons, and best practice approaches reviewed to ensure consistency with FSMA rules Each year at least two SRC members reviewed materials and resources before being added to the WRCEFS database. Creation of a technical assistance network plan From 2018 to 2020 the SRC team decided to work within the Produce International Partnership (PIP) for Education and Outreach TAN rather than creating a separate one. Of 20 members for the Produce International Partnership (PIP) for Education and Outreach TAN were from the SRC; From 2020-2022 the TAN was not created due to another TAN being developed that included many of the same personnel Development and dissemination of standardized evaluation instruments Four-month quantitative follow-up via Qualtrics for PSA/FSPCA - Completed; FSPCA pre/post-test - Completed; PSA pre/post-test - Completed Number of grant personnel trained to implement the project's standardized evaluation procedures Evaluation presentations at SRIPS and annual meetings Development of a strategy for communication with FSOPs SRIPS Conferences and FSOP Project Directors Meetings were created and served this purpose: 2019 SRIPS - October 29-30, 2019 - San Antonio, TX 2020 SRIPS - October 5-8, 2020 - via Zoom 2021 - No conference conducted due to continued travel restrictions 2022 - FSOP National Project Directors' Meeting - May 25, 2022 - Orlando, FL 2023 - FSOP National Project Directors' Meeting - May 31-June 1, 2023 - Tampa, FL How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Altogether, a total of 265 PSA and FSPCA trainings were conducted during the grant period, which resulted in 4,431 agriculturalists being trained. Project partners reported special populations targeted by their training events, when applicable, which included: African American farmers (n= 3) Beginning farmers (n= 7) Local food growers (defined as food producers who sell over 50% of their food within 275 miles of their farm or food facility) (n= 10) Low literacy farmers (n= 2) Non-English/Limited English proficiency speakers (n= 10) (all Spanish) Other special population (n= 8) NCDA Soil and water (n= 1) Native American (n= 4) Choctaw Indian Reservation (n= 1) REEU student participants (n= 1) 1890 students (n= 1) Plainclothes growers (such as Amish, Mennonite, or Hutterite) (n= 12) Table 2 provides an overview of the number of attendees and participants of the FSPCA trainings during the grant period. The no-cost extension for Year 4 provided additional opportunities for FSPCA instructors to conduct more trainings. A total of 21 FSPCA trainings were conducted that reached 332 participants. Table 2. FSPCA Trainings and Participants by State or Territory State Trainings (n) Participants (n) Yr. 1 Yr. 2 Yr. 3 Yr. 4 Yr. 1 Yr. 2 Yr. 3 Yr. 4 Alabama - - - - - - - Arkansas - - - - - - - Florida 2 1 - - 27 22 - Georgia 2 - 1 - 36 - 5 Kentucky - - - - - - - Louisiana - - - - - - - Mississippi - - - - - - - North Carolina - - 2 1 - - 23 Oklahoma - - - 1 - - - 13 Puerto Rico 3 2 1 - 58 43 12 South Carolina - 3 1 - - 51 26 Tennessee - - - - - - - Texas 1 - - - 2 - - Virginia - - - - - - - U.S. Virgin Islands - - - - - - - Total 8 6 5 2 123 116 66 Table 3 provides an overview of the number of attendees and participants of the PSA trainings during the grant period. The no-cost extension for Year 4 provided additional opportunities for PSA instructors to conduct more trainings. A total of 244 trainings were conducted reaching 4,099 participants. Table 3. PSA Trainings and Participants by State or Territory State Trainings (n) Participants (n) Yr. 1 Yr. 2 Yr. 3 Yr. 4 Yr. 1 Yr. 2 Yr. 3 Yr. 4 Alabama 2 1 3 1 34 46 38 24 Arkansas 9 1 8 2 129 16 80 17 Florida 14 5 12 10 217 94 204 178 Georgia 13 2 3 3 306 65 42 30 Kentucky - 17 13 10 - 361 201 117 Louisiana 4 3 2 - 33 31 22 - Mississippi 1 11 - 2 9 190 - 39 North Carolina 7 6 4 3 112 80 43 29 Oklahoma - - 7 1 - - 63 10 Puerto Rico 8 3 2 1 203 82 37 6 South Carolina 4 10 6 - 67 187 69 - Tennessee 2 2 3 1 62 46 79 26 Texas 8 2 - 4 121 24 - 41 Virginia 5 2 - - 131 39 - - U.S. Virgin Islands - - 1 - - - 19 - Total 77 65 64 38 1,424 1,261 897 517 Evaluation Outcome Data Short-Term Outcomes - Knowledge: PSA Training The average pre-test score mean was 15.25 and the average post-test score mean was 21.42. A one-samplet-test using the pre-test group mean as the test value was conducted to determine if post-test PSA scores were significantly different than pre-test scores. Year 1: Post-test scores were significantly higher than pre-test scores (T = -41.615, p < 0.001), indicating a significant increase in knowledge after participation in the training. Out of 25 points, PSA participants' mean post-test score was 20.18, while their mean pre-test score was 15.84. Year 2: Post-test scores were significantly higher than pre-test scores (t = -39.69, p < 0.05), indicating a significant increase in knowledge after participation in the training. Out of 25 points, PSA participants' mean post-test score was 20.51, while their mean pre-test score was 15.57. Year 3: Post-test scores were significantly higher than pre-test scores (t = -37.52, p < 0.05), indicating a significant increase in knowledge after participation in the training. Out of 25 points, PSA participants' mean post-test score was 22.74, while their mean pre-test score was 13.26. Year 4: The pre-test mean was 16.35, while the post-test mean was 22.25 (n= 317). Results for the PSA trainings showed post-test scores were significantly higher than pre-test scores (t= 10.15,p< 0.01), indicating a significant increase in knowledge after participation in the training. The effect size is medium (d= 0.57). No test data was available for the FSPCA trainings. Medium-Term Outcomes - Practices Adopted: PSA Training Participants were asked to report their adoption of PSA-compliant practices. Table 4 shows the respondents' adoption of new or different food safety practices following the PSA training. The most adopted practices were creating or modifying food safety record-keeping systems and implementing new or different methods for cleaning or sanitizing food contact surfaces. Participants were also able to indicate food safety practices they had adopted but are not in Table 4, including storing and handling equipment more carefully and preventing visitor access to livestock. The most common infrastructure changes reported focused on new or improved handwash stations, improved sanitation equipment, and new/improved irrigation. Other infrastructure changes reported included a new apple washer, new water tubs, new open flatbed trucks, new fencing and netting, new gutters, and new flooring. Table 4. PSA Trainees' Follow-up Adoption of New or Different Practices Actions taken since participating in the training: N Yes (n) No (n) NA (n) Did you begin to write or modify farm food safety plans? 179 96 29 54 Did you create or modify food safety record-keeping systems? 193 102 32 59 Implement new or different trainings for employees on food safety/hygiene protocols? 193 80 31 82 Implement new or different practices for monitoring on-farm facilities 194 95 38 55 Implement new or different practices for the handling of biological soil amendments of animal origin 202 73 27 102 Implement new or different strategies to reduce the risk of contamination from wildlife or domesticated animals 167 72 42 53 Implement new or different testing of agricultural water for generic E. coli 185 55 53 77 Implement new or different methods for cleaning or sanitizing food contact surfaces 173 97 21 55 Implement new or different pest control systems 164 52 59 53 Implement new or different methods for transportation of produce 187 59 61 67 Implement new or different traceability systems 185 61 59 65 Implement any other new or different methods related to produce safety (other than above) 205 53 152 - Added new or modified existing on-farm infrastructure (such as irrigation systems) or equipment (such as washing equipment, vehicles, etc.) in order to improve food safety practices 210 64 146 - Medium-Term Outcomes - Practices Adopted: FSPCA Training FSPCA trainees were also given the opportunity within four months of the training to indicate whether they adopted new or different food safety practices or would recommend the FSCPA training to others. Table 5 shows the number of respondents who indicated they adopted one or multiple follow-up behaviors. The highest number of trainees reported fine-tuning existing food safety plans and/or recommended the training to others. Table 5. FSPCA Trainees' Follow-up Adoption of New or Different Practices Actions taken since participating in the training: N Yes (n) Wrote food safety plans for your organization 91 11 Fine-tuned existing food safety plans 91 24 Implemented new food safety plans 91 19 Consulted with clients on FSPCA regulations 91 3 Helped manufacturers become compliant with FSPCA 91 9 Trained employees on FSPCA rules 91 17 Recommended the training to others 91 24 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 overall goal of this Regional Center proposal was to continue to build a collaborative infrastructure in the Southern US to support Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) compliant training, education, extension, outreach, and technical assistance as it relates to the produce industry. The Southern Center includes participation from land-grant institutions in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. It led, managed, and coordinated regional assistance programs that targeted owners and operators of small and medium-sized farms, beginning farmers, socially disadvantaged farmers, small food processors, and small fruit and vegetable merchant wholesalers affected by FSMA requirements. In addition to land-grant institutions,we established partnerships with stakeholder groups, including state and local regulators, and community-based and nongovernmental organizations, which were leveraged to maximize training effectiveness and delivery opportunities. The goal was accomplished through the following specific objectives: 1. We developed a cadre of PSA and FSPCA-certified trainers within the Southeast US who are focused on supporting the produce industry. 2. We developed and delivered regional and stakeholder-specific education, training curricula, and technical assistance programs. 3. We evaluated the impact of Southern Center education, training, and technical assistance programs. Programs focused on helping audiences understand and interpret FSMA regulations and implement systems to meet requirements across the respective environments, agricultural production, and processing systems in the Southeast US to ensure co-management of food safety, conservation systems and ecological health. Additionally, the University served as the lead institution for all four Regional Centers (Southern, Northeast, North Central, and Western). It managed the national priorities as well as facilitated communication and information sharing between the centers.

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Narine, L. K., Harder, A., & Danyluk, M. (2019). Floridian producers concerns about the Food Safety Modernization Act. Food Protection Trends, 39(2), 237-244.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Stull, K. Southern Center for FSMA Training and Lead Regional Coordination Center WRCEFS Annual Meeting Update. Western Regional Center (WRCEFS) Annual Meeting. Virtual May 12, 2020. (oral, invited).
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Stull, KJ; Schneider, KR; Goodrich, R; Chapin, TK; Harder, A; Silvert, C; Krug, M; Jackson-Davis, A; Kassama, L; Chembezi, D; Myles, E; Philyaw-Perez, A; Woods, K; Carter, C; Northcutt, J; Baker, K; Sarjeant, K; Balasubramanian, R; Dunn, L; Vijayakumar, PP; Newman, M; Adhikari, A; Fontenot, K; Silva, J; Anderson, J; Gunter, C; Champan, B; Rogers, E; Simmons, O; McReynolds, R; Jadeja, R; Jaroni, D; Orellana-Feliciano, L; Plaza, M; Wszelaki, A; Morgan, M; Fouladkhah, A; Taylor, T; Castillo, A; Masabni, J; Vaughan, B; Malekian, F; Strawn, LK; Vallotton, A; Williams, R; Saunders, T; Danyluk, MD. Evaluation of the Southern Regional Center for FSMA Training, Outreach and Technical Assistance Training Efforts. IAFP Annual Conference. October 2020 (remote, poster).
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Stull, KJ; Schneider, KR; Goodrich R; Harder, A; Silvert, C; Whitehurst, S; Danyluk, MD. FSMA Southern Center Training Evaluation and Lead Regional Coordination Center. Southeast Regional Fruit and Vegetable Conference. January 5-7, 2021 (remote, poster).
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Stull, KJ; Schneider, KR; Goodrich, R; Harder, A; Krug, M; Jackson-Davis, A; Kassama, L; Chembezi, D; Myles, E; Philyaw-Perez, A; Woods, K; Carter, C; Northcutt, J; Baker, K; Sarjeant, K; Balasubramanian, R; Dunn, L; Vijayakumar, PP; Newman, M; Adhikari, A; Fontenot, K; Silva, J; Anderson, J; Gunter, C; Rogers, E; Simmons, O; McReynolds, R; Jadeja, R; Jaroni, D; Orellana-Feliciano, L; Plaza, M; Wszelaki, A; Morgan, M; Fouladkhah, A; Taylor, T; Castillo, A; Masabni, J; Vaughan, B; Malekian, F; Strawn, LK; Vallotton, A; Williams, R; Danyluk, MD. Evaluation of the Southern Center for FSMA Training. IAFP Annual Conference. Phoenix, AZ. July 18-22, 2021 (poster).
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Stull, K. Southern Regional Center Update. NASDA Produce Safety Consortium. Virtual December 10, 2021. (oral, invited).
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Williams, J., K. Schneider, J. Kovacevic. Lead Regional Center, WRCEFS and FSOPs: Working Together. Western Regional Center to Enhance Food Safety 3rd Annual Meeting, Portland, OR, May 15-16, 2019. (oral)
• Type: Books Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: FSOP National Project Directors Program Booklet (available at https://sc.ifas.ufl.edu/resources/). Proceedings from meeting held Aug 18-19, 2020.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Stull, K. Southern Center for Food Safety Training, Outreach and Technical Assistance and Lead Regional Coordination Center. Southern Region Integrated Produce Safety Conference, San Antonio, TX, October 29-30, 2019. (Poster).
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Stull, K. Southern Center for Food Safety Training, Outreach and Technical Assistance and Lead Regional Coordination Center. Southeast Regional Fruit & Vegetable Conference, Savannah, GA, January 9-12, 2020. (Poster).
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Schneider, KR. Southern Center for FSMA Training NECAFS Annual Meeting Update. Northeast Center (NECAFS) Annual Meeting. Philadelphia, PA, February 11-12, 2020. (oral, invited).
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Stull, K. Southern Center for FSMA Training NCR Annual Meeting Update. North Central Region (NCR) Annual Meeting. Virtual April 2, 2020. (oral, invited).
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Stull, K. Southern and Lead Regional Coordination Center Structuring. North Central Region (NCR) Annual Meeting. Virtual February 11, 2021. (oral, invited).
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Stull, K. Southern Center for FSMA Training and Lead Regional Coordination Center WRCEFS Annual Meeting Update. Western Regional Center (WRCEFS) Annual Meeting. Virtual May 6, 2021. (oral, invited).
• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Food Safety Outreach Program: National Project Directors Meeting. Conference Proceedings. Orlando, FL. May 25-26, 2022.
• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Food Safety Outreach Program: National Project Directors Meeting. Conference Proceedings. Tampa, FL May 30th to June 1st, 2023.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Assessing Knowledge Gained from Produce Safety Alliance Grower Trainings Administered by the Southern Center for FSMA Training. 2022. Alan Gutierrez, Mari Schroeder, Amy Harder, Kate Shoulders, Kristin Woods, Amanda Philyaw Perez, Laurel L. Dunn, Christopher Gunter, Lynette Johnston, Elena Rogers, Chip Simmons, Paul Priyesh Vijayakumar, Casey Newcomb, Chad Carter, Thomas M. Taylor, Alejandro Castillo, Juan Anciso, Joseph Masabni, Laura K. Strawn, Amber Vallotton, Michelle D. Danyluk, and Keith R. Schneider. IAFP Annual Meeting, Pittsburgh, PA. 7-30-22 to 8-3-22.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Submitted Year Published: 2023 Citation: Southern Region Produce Safety Alliance Grower Training: Using Pre- and Post-Training Knowledge Assessments to Understand Training Effectiveness. 2023. Keith R. Schneider, Mari Schroeder, Alan Gutierrez, Karuna Kharel, Ren�e Goodrich Schneider, Amy Harder, Amanda Philyaw Perez, Kristin Woods, Laurel L. Dunn, Paul Priyesh Vijayakumar, Christopher Gunter, Elena Rogers, Chip Simmons, Lynette Johnston, Chad Carter, Thomas M. Taylor, Alejandro Castillo, Juan Anciso, Joseph Masabni, Laura K. Strawn, Amber Vallotton, Katelynn Stull, D Taylor OBannon and Michelle D. Danyluk. Journal of Food Protection. Submitted

Progress 09/01/21 to 08/31/22

Outputs
Target Audience: Our target audiences include owners and operators of small and medium-sized farms, beginning farmers, socially disadvantaged farmers, small food processors, and small fruit and vegetable merchant wholesalers affected by FSMA rules. In addition to targeting the development of Lead Instructors and Trainers at consortium institutions, primarystakeholders from Federal and State regulatory agencies, NGOs, and other trade organizations, and collaborating institutions in the Southern Region have been targeted as individuals to include in our train-the-trainer plan. Changes/Problems: The effects of COVID were still being felt early in this reporting period. The ongoing pandemic forced trainers to continue to offer training both in person and online (or hybrid). Many of these trainings are transitioning back to an in-person modality, though demand for remote trainings is still robust and may necessitate a shift in our training philosophy.This is most likely due to the convenience of attending such meetings remotely. With this in mind,the grant team will continue to use both in-person andweb-based meetings to fulfill FSOP communication and information-sharing deliverables.We will continue to evaluate the effectiveness of these workshops to ensure that our training goals are being met. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The SRC held two meetings in Year 4. The annual meeting was held January 6, 2022, at the Southeast Regional Fruit & Vegetable Conference in Savannah, GA. The semi-annual meeting was held at IAFP on July 31, 2022. Approximately 80% of the costs for the semi-annual meeting were covered by SRC 2.0, while the remaining costs were covered by the new SRC 3.0 grant. Six Produce Safety Alliance Grower Trainings were conducted; three were in-person while three were remotely delivered. A PSA Train-the-Trainer course was conducted in Florida in May. Table 1provides an overview of the number of attendees by type to FSPCA or PSA training in year 4 based on the records submitted to the Southern Center evaluation team. Project partners reported special populations targeted by their trainings, when applicable. Most trainings did not target a special population. Those that did were: Birmingham, AL, PSA - African Americans, Beginning farmers, Local food growers, Low Literacy Crab Orchard, KY, PSA - Plain clothes growers Munfordville, KY, PSA - Plain clothes growers Taft, OK, PSA - African American farmers Online, Texas - Non-English/Limited English Proficiency speakers - Spanish Several partners indicated they leveraged funds from the SRC to provide trainings. For example, Kentucky had 18.15% of trainers' salaries paid by SRC 2.0 and 3% paid by SRC 3.0 for training offered in Year 4, but the remaining costs were funded by the Kentucky Department of Agriculture CAP grant. Similarly, Texas reported leveraging NIFA funding with Texas Department of Agriculture support for their training events. Table 1: Trainings Participants State FSPCA Year 4 PSA Year 4 FSPCA Year 4 PSA Year 4 Alabama - 1 - 24 Arkansas - 2 - 17 Florida - 10 - 178 Georgia - 3 - 30 Kentucky - 10 - 117 Louisiana - - - - Mississippi - 2 - 39 North Carolina 1 3 14 29 Oklahoma 1 1 13 10 Puerto Rico - 1 - 6 South Carolina - - - - Tennessee - 1 - 26 Texas - 4 - 41 Virginia - - - - U.S. Virgin Islands - - - - Total 2 38 27 517 A no-cost extension was provided for the grant, creating an unexpected fourth year of activities. The extension resulted in an additional two FSPCA trainings and 38 PSA trainings, reaching over 500 participants who learned significantly more about food safety. Although the response rate for follow-up surveys continues to be low, the data indicate participants apply their knowledge to make measurable improvements to their operations. The project leadership team is encouraged to review the results and apply lessons learned to the next iteration of the Southern Center's work. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Dissemination of regional training materials is conducted using theSouthern Region Center (SRC) website (https://sc.ifas.ufl.edu/)and the NECAFS Food Safety ResourceClearinghouse (https://www.foodsafetyclearinghouse.org/). Additionally, we host a regional center meeting annually in Savannah, GA, this year held on Jan 6th, 2022 and also at the IAFP meeting in Pittsburgh, held on July 31st, 2022. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? In the final year of 2.0 funding (2022-2023), only two activities will be attributed to this program. Most, if not all of the training will shift to 3.0 funding, 2.0 funding will concentrate on the upcoming Savannah, GA regional SRC meeting and the Food Safety OutreachProgram: National Project Directors meeting to be held in Florida in the late spring. We will continue to use FSOP liaison model developed in the previous reporting period to continue open communications. This model was successful in the development of this year's FSOP program director's meeting held in May of 2022 and we will use that model again in 2023.One individual from each university has been designated (contact information available upon request). The FSOP regional awardees will continue to collect data from trainings, assessments, and success stories.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? In Year 4, several events were organized by the Southern Center leadership to enhance communication between project partners and improve the likelihood of achieving grant outcomes. The SRC held two meetings in Year 4. The annual meeting was held on January 6, 2022, at the Southeast Regional Fruit & Vegetable Conference in Savannah, GA. The semi-annual meeting was held at IAFP in Pittsburgh, PAon July 31, 2022. Approximately 80% of the costs for the semi-annual meeting were covered by SRC 2.0, while the remaining costs were covered by the new SRC 3.0 grant. Six Produce Safety Alliance Grower Trainings were conducted; three were in-person, while three were remotely delivered. A PSA Train-the-Trainer course was conducted in Florida in May The pandemic continued to hamper progress on grant activities, due to restrictions on in-person activities and the difficulty teaching extensive curriculum online via Zoom. This was particularly impactful for the FSPCA training, while most (all but 10) PSA trainings were taught online. Short-Term Outcomes - Knowledge A one-samplet-test using the pre-test group mean as the test value was conducted to determine if post-test PSA scores were significantly different than pre-test scores. The pre-test mean was 16.35, while the post-test mean was 22.25 (n= 317). Results for the PSA trainings showed post-test scores were significantly higher than pre-test scores (t= 10.15,p< 0.01), indicating a significant increase in knowledge after participation in the training. The effect size is medium (d= .57). No test data was available for the FSPCA trainings. ?Medium-Term Outcomes - Practices Adopted PSA training. Participants were asked to report their adoption of PSA-compliant practices. Table 3 shows the respondents' adoption of new or different food safety practices following the PSA training. The data in Table 3 were collected between October 2021 and September 2022. The most adopted practices were implementing new or different practices for monitoring on-farm facilities and implementing new or different methods for cleaning or sanitizing food contact surfaces. Participants were also able to indicate food safety practices they had adopted but are not in Table 3, including storing and handling equipment more carefully (n= 4) and preventing visitor access to livestock. The most common infrastructure changes reported focused on new or improved handwash stations (n= 3), improved sanitation equipment (n= 3), and new/improved irrigation (n= 3). Other infrastructure changes reported included a new apple washer, new water tubs, new open flatbed trucks, new fencing and netting, new gutters, and new flooring. LRCC The LRCC was charged with coordinating activities across the four regional centers (RCs). Katelynn Stull has been replaced by Ms. Peggy Gegen and willcontinue as theExtension Program Specialist to provide communication support. Responsibilities of the position include sending periodic e-mails with updates relevant to the projects and organizing monthly Zoom calls.The major deliverable for the LRCC in conjunction with this grant was the planning and delivery of the Food Safety Outreach Program:National Project Directors Meetingmeeting on May 25-26, in Orlando, FL.

Publications

• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Food Safety Outreach Program: National Project Directors Meeting. Conference Proceedings. Orlando, FL. May 25-26, 2022.

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

Outputs
Target Audience:Our target audiences include owners and operators of small and medium-sized farms, beginning farmers,socially disadvantaged farmers, small food processors, and small fruit and vegetable merchant wholesalers affected byFSMA rules. In addition to targeting the development of Lead Instructors and Trainers at consortium institutions, primary stakeholders from Federal and State regulatory agencies, NGOs, and other trade organizations, and collaborating institutionsin the Southern Region have been targeted as individuals to include in our train-the-trainer plan. Changes/Problems:The entire year 3 of the project was impacted by the continuing COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic forced trainers to adapt by changing the format of trainings to online delivery. Because of needing to teach online, FSPCA trainings were modified to be delivered virtually. Despite these challenges, the grant team still reached nearly as many participants in Year 3 as in Years 1 and 2 for both PSA and FSPCA trainings. Additionally, the grant team continued its use of web-based meetings to fulfill FSOP communication and information sharing deliverables. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?A summary of training activities and outputs (cumulative for Years 1-3). These represent training opportunities for participating instructors and participants. Output Detail Current Status Number of PSA workshops conducted Ongoing 293 Number of PSA participants Ongoing 3,594 Number of FSPCA workshops conducted Ongoing 19 Number of FSPCA participants Ongoing 207 Number of train-the-trainer workshops offered to PSA trainers and lead trainers, and FSPCA Lead instructors 4 PSA September 2019 - Baton Rouge, LA December 2019 - Apopka, FL February 2020 - Bessemer, AL June/July 2021 - Virtual Ongoing FSPCA now hosts its own courses in Washington, DC; Chicago, and Seattle Number of continuing education opportunities offered 2 Pilot trainings December 2019 & January 2020 - Lake Alfred 51 participants Suspended due to COVID-19; targeting a spring 2022 course delivery Dissemination of regional training materials on the Southern Region website and/or the NE Clearinghouse Ongoing 6 add-ons and past event resources are available on SRC site; 12 remote PSA training resources posted on SRC site Number of alternative and modified food safety training curricula, add-ons, and best practice approaches reviewed to ensure consistency with FSMA rules Two SRC reviewers are included onthe WRCEFS database. Two add-ons are in review. Creation of a technical assistance network plan 8 of 20 members for the Produce International Partnership (PIP) for Education and Outreach TAN are from the SRC. Thirteen questions were answered between 10/19 and 9/20. The TAN was not created due to another TAN being developed that included many of the same personnel Development and dissemination of standardized evaluation instruments 4-month quantitative follow-up via Qualtrics for PSA/FSPCA FSPCA pre/post-test PSA pre/post-test Completed in Year 1 Completed in Year 1 Completed in Year 1 Number of grant personnel trained to implement the project's standardized evaluation procedures Evaluation presentations at SRIPS and annual meeting See attendance records for the annual meeting in 2020 Development of a strategy for communication with FSOPs SRIPS Conference serves this purpose 2019 SRIPS - October 29-30, 2019 - San Antonio, TX 2020 SRIPS - October 5-8, 2020 The next event is the annual meeting set for January 6, 2022 (Savannah, GA) How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The SC and LRCC Website has been updated and is being added to continuously. The existing Southern Center website added a page to describe the LRCC and project personnel: https://sc.ifas.ufl.edu/lead-regional-coordination-center/. Dr. K. Schneider, LRCC Director, indicated the website is still evolving and more will be done in the upcoming year. Additionally,?all RCs have their own websites and are in the process of updating them continuously. All websites now contain a link to the national clearinghouse hosted by NECAFS. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?To assist in achieving grant goals for 2021-2022 (during the NCE year), the LRCC will continue to use FSOP liaison model developed in the previous reporting period to continue open communications. This model was successful in the development of this year's FSOP program director's meeting. One individual from each university has been designated from the list below (contact information available upon request). The FSOP regional awardees will continue to collect data from trainings, assessments, and success stories. North Central - Iowa State University; Northeast - University of Vermont; Southern - University of Florida; Western - Oregon State University. Also, in addition to the annual regional meetings, the LRCC will host a final FSOP program directors meeting in May of 2022 to finalize the LRCC commitment to this round of funding.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Southern Regional Center In Year 3, four events were organized by the Southern Center leadership to enhance communication between project partners and improve the likelihood of achieving grant outcomes. A virtual SRIPS conference was held October 5-8, 2020. The annual Southern Region Integrated Produce Safety (SRIPS) Conference was scheduled to be held in New Orleans in September 2021 but was canceled due to ongoing Covid-19-related travel restrictions impacting partner agencies and universities. The SRIPS conferences address the second objective of the grant, which was to coordinate a regional communication strategy to discuss ongoing efforts and best practices for FSMA-related training, education, and technical assistance in the southern U.S. The program booklet for the 2020 SRIPS conference, including the agenda, is available at:https://sc.ifas.ufl.edu/media/scifasufledu/docs/resources/SRIPS-2020-Program-Booklet.pdf The annual meeting of the Southern Center was hosted virtually on January 20-21, 2021 in lieu of the in-person meeting typically held in conjunction with the SRFVA conference. The Southern Center semi-annual meeting, typically held in conjunction with IAFP, was instead hosted virtually on August 4, 2021. A virtual Produce Safety Alliance (PSA) Train-the-Trainer course was offered June 30-July 3, 2021. Seventeen attendees took the training and received their certificates. The pandemic continued to hamper progress on grant activities, due to restrictions on in-person activities and the difficulty teaching extensive curriculum online via Zoom. This was particularly impactful for the FSPCA training, while most (all but 10) PSA trainings were taught online. ?LRCC The LRCC was charged with coordinating activities across the four regional centers (RCs). Katelynn Stull continued in her role as an Extension Program Specialist to provide communication support. Responsibilities of the position include sending periodic e-mails with updates relevant to the projects and organizing monthly Zoom calls. Eleven meetings were held in the third year of the grant. The dates of LRCC communication meetings were Nov 13, 2020; Nov 20, 2020; Dec 10, 2020; Feb 1, 2021; Feb 22, 2021; March 12, 2021; May 17, 2021; July 26, 2021; Sept 27, 2021; and October 22, 2021. LRCC meetings were not held in months in which all RCs participated in a SRC meeting (January, August). The national FSOP meeting on June 8 took the place of that month's LRCC meeting. Meeting minutes are available from Katelynn Stull.

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Accepted Year Published: 2021 Citation: Alvarado, S., R. Bland, S. R. B. Brown, J. Waite-Cusic, and J. Kovacevic. 2021. Produce Safety Alliance grower trainings: Activities to increase participant engagement. Food Protection Trends.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Perry, B., Shaw, A., Enderton, A.E., Coleman, S.S., and E.E. Johnsen. 2020. North Central Region Produce Grower Training: Pre-Test and Post-Test Knowledge Change and Produce Safety Behavior Assessment. Food Protection Trends: 41 (3): 266-273.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2020 Citation: Stull, KJ; Schneider, KR; Goodrich, R; Chapin, TK; Harder, A; Silvert, C; Krug, M; Jackson-Davis, A; Kassama, L; Chembezi, D; Myles, E; Philyaw-Perez, A; Woods, K; Carter, C; Northcutt, J; Baker, K; Sarjeant, K; Balasubramanian, R; Dunn, L; Vijayakumar, PP; Newman, M; Adhikari, A; Fontenot, K; Silva, J; Anderson, J; Gunter, C; Champan, B; Rogers, E; Simmons, O; McReynolds, R; Jadeja, R; Jaroni, D; Orellana-Feliciano, L; Plaza, M; Wszelaki, A; Morgan, M; Fouladkhah, A; Taylor, T; Castillo, A; Masabni, J; Vaughan, B; Malekian, F; Strawn, LK; Vallotton, A; Williams, R; Saunders, T; Danyluk, MD. Evaluation of the Southern Regional Center for FSMA Training, Outreach and Technical Assistance Training Efforts. IAFP Annual Conference. October 2020 (remote, poster).
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2021 Citation: Stull, KJ; Schneider, KR; Goodrich R; Harder, A; Silvert, C; Whitehurst, S; Danyluk, MD. FSMA Southern Center Training Evaluation and Lead Regional Coordination Center. Southeast Regional Fruit and Vegetable Conference. January 5-7, 2021 (remote, poster).
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2021 Citation: Stull, KJ; Schneider, KR; Goodrich, R; Harder, A; Krug, M; Jackson-Davis, A; Kassama, L; Chembezi, D; Myles, E; Philyaw-Perez, A; Woods, K; Carter, C; Northcutt, J; Baker, K; Sarjeant, K; Balasubramanian, R; Dunn, L; Vijayakumar, PP; Newman, M; Adhikari, A; Fontenot, K; Silva, J; Anderson, J; Gunter, C; Rogers, E; Simmons, O; McReynolds, R; Jadeja, R; Jaroni, D; Orellana-Feliciano, L; Plaza, M; Wszelaki, A; Morgan, M; Fouladkhah, A; Taylor, T; Castillo, A; Masabni, J; Vaughan, B; Malekian, F; Strawn, LK; Vallotton, A; Williams, R; Danyluk, MD. Evaluation of the Southern Center for FSMA Training. IAFP Annual Conference. Phoenix, AZ. July 18-22, 2021 (poster).
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2021 Citation: Stull, K. Southern Regional Center Update. NASDA Produce Safety Consortium. Virtual December 10, 2021. (oral, invited).
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2021 Citation: Stull, K. Southern and Lead Regional Coordination Center Structuring. North Central Region (NCR) Annual Meeting. Virtual February 11, 2021. (oral, invited).
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2021 Citation: Stull, K. Southern Center for FSMA Training and Lead Regional Coordination Center WRCEFS Annual Meeting Update. Western Regional Center (WRCEFS) Annual Meeting. Virtual May 6, 2021. (oral, invited).

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

Outputs
Target Audience:Our target audiences include owners and operators of small and medium-sized farms, beginning farmers, sociallydisadvantaged farmers, small food processors, and small fruit and vegetable merchant wholesalers affected by FSMA rules.In addition to targeting the development of Lead Instructors and Trainers at consortium institutions, primary stakeholdersfrom Federal and State regulatory agencies, NGOs and other trade organizations, and collaborating institutions in theSouthern Region have been targeted as individuals to include in our train-the-trainer plan Changes/Problems:Year 2 of the project was interrupted approximately six months in by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic forced trainers to adapt by changing the format of trainings to online delivery. Because of needing to teach online, FSPCA trainings were suspended since the content is less amenable to online instruction. Further, the project leadership and I decided to temporarily suspend the use of pre- and post-tests for PSA trainings due to the complexity of implementing those in an online format. Despite these challenges, the grant team still reached nearly as many participants in Year 2 as in Year 1 for both PSA and FSPCA trainings. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Southern Center Summary of outputs by progress status Output Detail Current Status Number of PSA workshops conducted Ongoing 141 Number of PSA participants Ongoing 2,685 Number of FSPCA workshops conducted Ongoing 11 Number of FSPCA participants Ongoing 239 Number of train-the-trainer workshops offered to PSA trainers and lead trainers, and FSPCA Lead instructors 3 PSA September 2019 - Baton Rouge, LA December 2019 - Apopka, FL February 2020 - Bessemer, AL Suspended due to COVID-19 FSPCA now hosts their own courses in Washington, DC; Chicago, or Seattle Number of continuing education opportunities offered 2 Pilot trainings December 2019 & January 2020 - Lake Alfred 51 participants Suspended due to COVID-19 Dissemination of regional training materials on the Southern Region website and/or the NE Clearinghouse Ongoing 6 add-ons and past event resources are available on SRC site; 12 remote PSA training resources posted on SRC site Number of alternative and modified food safety training curricula, add-ons, and best practice approaches reviewed to ensure consistency with FSMA rules The work of two SRC reviewers progressed by has been delayed awaiting FDA feedback and the renewal of the local food safety cooperative agreement. Ongoing Creation of a technical assistance network plan 8 of 20 members for the Produce International Partnership (PIP) for Education and Outreach TAN are from the SRC. Thirteen questions were answered between 10/19 and 9/20. Plan created; Ongoing assistance being provided. Development and dissemination of standardized evaluation instruments 4-month quantitative follow-up via Qualtrics for PSA/FSPCA FSPCA pre/post-test PSA pre/post-test Completed in Year 1 Completed in Year 1 Completed in Year 1 Number of grant personnel trained to implement the project's standardized evaluation procedures Evaluation presentations at SRIPS and annual meeting See attendance records for annual meeting in 2020 Development of a strategy for communication with FSOPs SRIPS Conference serves this purpose 2019 SRIPS - San Antonio, TX 2020 SRIPS - planned for October 5-8, 2020 How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The SC and LRCC Website has been updated and is being added to continuously. The existing Southern Center website added a page to describe the LRCC and project personnel: https://sc.ifas.ufl.edu/lead-regional-coordination-center/. Dr. K.Schneider, LRCC Director, indicated the website is still evolving and more will be done in the upcoming year. Additionally, all RCs have their own websites and are in the process of updated them continuously. All websites now contain a link to the national clearinghouse hosted by NECAFS. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?To assist in achieving grant goals for 2020-2021, the LRCC will continue to use FSOP liasion model developed in the previous reporting period to continue open communications. This model was successful in the develpment of this year's FSOP program director's meeting. One individual from each university has been designated from the list below (contact information available upon request). The FSOP regional awardees will continue to collect data from on trainings, assessments, and success stories. • North Central - Iowa State University • Northeast - University of Vermont • Southern - University of Florida • Western - Oregon State University. Also, in addition to the annual regional meetings, the LRCC will host two national webinar FSOP meetings with a final LRCC wrap up with regional partners.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Southern Regional Center In Year 2, three events were organized by the Southern Center leadership to enhance communication between project partners and improve likelihood of achieving grant outcomes. The SRIPS conference addressed the second objective of the grant, which was to coordinate a regional communication strategy to discuss ongoing efforts and best practices for FSMA-related training, education, and technical assistance in the southern U.S. An attendance list for SRIPS is available in the appendices. A virtual SRIPS conference is being planned for October 5-8, 2020. Minutes from the grant meetings held at the SRFVA and IAFP conferences are available in the appendices. The program booklet for the 2019 SRIPS conference, including the agenda, is available at: https://sc.ifas.ufl.edu/media/scifasufledu/docs/resources/Program-Booklet-2019.pdf Training courses, resource creation and distribution, and focus of Southern Center partners are impacted by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The Southern Center has shared coronavirus resources and announcements related to the produce sector since March 2020 through email distribution and posting on the homepage of the Southern Center website. These resources include those created by Southern Center partners. Southern Center partners experienced a push towards coronavirus-related work and served as important messengers of guidance from governmental agencies during the pandemic for their stakeholders. LRCC The LRCC was charged with coordinating activities across the four regional centers (RCs). Katelynn Stull continued in her role as an Extension Program Specialist to provide communication support. Responsibilities of the position include sending periodic e-mails with updates relevant to the projects and organizing monthly Zoom calls. Eight meetings were held in the second year of the grant. Dates of LRCC communication meetings were October 15, November 15, March 20, April 20, May 29, July 1, July 28, and September 25. LRCC meetings were not held in months in which all RCs participated in a SRC meeting (January, February). The national FSOP meeting in August took the place of that month's LRCC meeting. Meeting minutes are available from Katelynn Stull or Amy Harder.

Publications

• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: FSOP National Project Directors Program Booklet (available at https://sc.ifas.ufl.edu/resources/). Proceedings from meeting held Aug 18-19, 2020.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Stull, K. Southern Center for Food Safety Training, Outreach and Technical Assistance and Lead Regional Coordination Center. Southern Region Integrated Produce Safety Conference, San Antonio, TX, October 29-30, 2019. (Poster).
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Stull, K. Southern Center for Food Safety Training, Outreach and Technical Assistance and Lead Regional Coordination Center. Southeast Regional Fruit & Vegetable Conference, Savannah, GA, January 9-12, 2020. (Poster).
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Schneider, KR. Southern Center for FSMA Training NECAFS Annual Meeting Update. Northeast Center (NECAFS) Annual Meeting. Philadelphia, PA, February 11-12, 2020. (oral, invited).
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Stull, K. Southern Center for FSMA Training NCR Annual Meeting Update. North Central Region (NCR) Annual Meeting. Virtual April 2, 2020. (oral, invited).
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Stull, K. Southern Center for FSMA Training and Lead Regional Coordination Center WRCEFS Annual Meeting Update. Western Regional Center (WRCEFS) Annual Meeting. Virtual May 12, 2020. (oral, invited).

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

Outputs
Target Audience:Our target audiences include owners and operators of small and medium-sized farms, beginning farmers, socially disadvantaged farmers, small food processors, and small fruit and vegetable merchant wholesalers affected by FSMA rules. In addition to targeting the development of Lead Instructors and Trainers at consortium institutions, primary stakeholders from Federal and State regulatory agencies, NGOs and other trade organizations, and collaborating institutions in the Southern Region have been targeted as individuals to include in our train-the-trainer plan. Changes/Problems:Southern Regional Center Year 1 of the project provided evidence of positive momentum. PSA and/or FSPCA trainings were held in all but two of the partner states. Short-term outcome data shows the trainings positively and significantly impactparticipants' knowledge, particularly for the PSA trainings. In the second year, the evaluation team will focus on identifying the reasons for FSPCA scores persistently being low (even though knowledge is gained). Possible causes include misalignment of the testing instrument with the curriculum, inconsistent coverage of topics within trainings, or difficulty of the subject matter. Importantly, the follow-up survey data indicates over 50% of respondents are implementing at least one recommended practice as a result of the training, regardless of training type. Project trainers should review the adoption datato determine if more emphasis needs to be placed on promoting the activities/practices for which few people reported adoption. Lead Regional Coordination Center The LRCC made substantial progress on its objectives during the first year, supported by partners in the RCs. In many cases, progress is on or ahead of schedule. The LRCC's commitment to maintaining consistent communication with the partnering RCs, and the willingness of partnering RCs to engage, is a strong asset to everyone's respective projects. As a result, there are documented outputs and outcomes for every objective and each RC contributed to success in the first year. Areas for which improvement can be expected in the upcoming year mostly focus on continuing to standardize the evaluation of the FSOPs across the region. Unlike the RCs, which are stable for a set time period, the continual rolling on and off of FSOP projects presents unique challenges. Further, the FSOP leads are often unclear about their relationship with their RC and evaluation expectations beyond what was written in their proposals. Continued communication with the FSOPs should be a goal for each RC moving into the second year of funding. The secondary recommendation for improvement in the coming year is for the NRC, SRC, and WRCEFS to increase their contributions to the national Clearinghouse; this should improve dissemination of resources at a national scale, as current usage statistics skew towards the NECAFS region (which is to be expected given that region's familiarity with the Clearinghouse from prior to the start of this grant). Due to a miscommunication, FSOP directors in one region received a different follow-up survey that does not allow their results to be cleanly aggregated with the other responses for the fall reporting period. However, there were responses for three projects within that region. Those project directors reported providing 15 PSA trainings that reached 320 participants, providing 16 FSPCA trainings that reached 289 participants, and other add-on trainings reaching 35 participants. Further, the FSOP directors reported creating 57 add-on materials. Finally, it should be noted that the outputs and outcomes of this report are based on the data that was available during the writing of the report. The absence of information does not necessarily reflect an absence of activity. Data received after the completion of this report will be reflected in the Year 2 report. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?A summary of activities pertaining to training and professional developmentis provided in Table 1. Table 1. Southern Regional Center outputs by progress status Output Detail Status Number of PSA workshops conducted Ongoing 77 Number of PSA participants 1424 Number of FSPCA workshops conducted Ongoing 8 Number of FSPCA participants 123 Number of train-the-trainer workshops offered to PSA trainers and lead trainers, and FSPCA Lead instructors TTT workshops in Baton Rouge, LA 9/11/2019; Charleston SC 3/21/19; Owensboro, KY, 3/21/19; Biloxi, MS 1/14/19; College Station, TX, 1/10/19 5 Number of continuing education opportunities offered Advanced PSA training course is under development Pilot planned for December Dissemination of regional training materials on the Southern Region website and/or the NE Clearinghouse Ongoing PSA Module 5 supplemental material is available as a resource on the SC website Number of alternative and modified food safety training curricula, add-ons, and best practice approaches reviewed to ensure consistency with FSMA rules Three reviewer names were submitted from the SRC; two are actively reviewing one of the alternate curricula Ongoing Creation of a technical assistance network plan The team decided to work within the Produce International Partnership (PIP) for Education and Outreach TAN rather than creating a separate one. The official launch was 9/19/19. 9 team members involved in promotion; efforts will be intensified in 2019-2020 Development and dissemination of standardized evaluation instruments 4-month quantitative follow-up via Qualtrics for PSA/FSPCA FSPCA pre/post-test PSA pre/post-test Completed Completed Completed Number of grant personnel trained to implement the project's standardized evaluation procedures Evaluation presentations at SRIPS and annual meeting Completed Development of a strategy for communication with FSOPs SRIPS Conference serves this purpose 1 held Participation Table 2 provides an overview of the number of attendees by type to FSPCA or PSA training based on the records submitted to the Southern Center evaluation team. Table 2. Participants by State or Territory No. of Trainings No of Participants State FSPCA PSA FSPCA Attendees (n) PSA Attendees (n) Alabama 2 34 Arkansas 9 129 Florida 2 14 27 217 Georgia 2 13 36 306 Kentucky Louisiana 4 33 Mississippi 1 9 North Carolina 7 112 Oklahoma Puerto Rico 3 8 58 203 South Carolina 4 67 Tennessee 2 62 Texas 1 8 2 121 Virginia 5 131 Total 7 77 123 1,424 How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The SC andLRCC Website has been updated and is being added to continuously.The existing Southern Center website added a page to describe the LRCC and project personnel:https://sc.ifas.ufl.edu/lead-regional-coordination-center/.Dr. K. Schneider, LRCC Director, indicated the website is still evolving and more will be done in the upcoming year.Additionally, all RCs have their own websites and are in the process of updated them continuously. All websites now contain a link to the national clearinghouse hosted by NECAFS. This website was rebranded in 2019. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?To assist in achieving grant goals for 2019-2020,the LRCC has called for an FSOP liaison to be designated for each RC. Oneindividual from each university has been designated from thelistbelow (contact information available upon request). Although the roles are not clearly defined in the narrative, responsibilities generally were reported to include communicating with the FSOP regional awardees to collect data from them on trainings, assessments, and success stories. North Central -Iowa State University Northeast -University of Vermont Southern -University of Florida Western -Oregon State University Also, in addition to the annual regional meetings, the LRCC will host a national FSOP meeting with periodic national webinars to openly share information and to foster better communication.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? ?Southern Regional Center Communication and coordination meetings were held at the Southern Region Integrated Produce Safety (SRIPS) Conference (Atlanta, GA) in October 2018, Southeast Regional Fruit & Vegetable Association conference (Savannah, GA) in January 2019, and the International Association of Food Protection conference in July 2019 (Louisville, KY). These meetings were organized by the Southern Center leadership to enhance communication between project partners and improve the likelihood of achieving grant outcomes. The SRIPS conference addressed the second objective of the grant, which was to coordinate a regional communication strategy to discuss ongoing efforts and best practices for FSMA-related training, education, and technical assistance in the southern U.S. Based on the success of the inaugural SRIPS conference in 2018, a second conference will be held October 2019 in San Antonio, TX. Short-Term Outcomes - Knowledge A directional dependent samples t-test was used to determine if there was a significant increase in knowledge after completion of the FSPCA (n = 108) and PSA trainings (n = 1,303). Results for the FSPCA trainings showed post-test scores were significantly higher than pre-test scores (T = -6.950, p < 0.001), indicating a significant increase in knowledge after participation in the training. Out of 15 points, FSPCA participants' mean post-test score was 8.28, while their mean pre-test score was 6.65. Results for the PSA trainings showed post-test scores were significantly higher than pre-test scores (T = -41.615, p < 0.001), indicating a significant increase in knowledge after participation in the training. Out of 25 points, PSA participants' mean post-test score was 20.18, while their mean pre-test score was 15.84. Medium-Term Outcomes - Practices Adopted All participants were contacted via email four months after completion of their respective training sessions to fill a Qualtrics follow-up survey. Participants were asked to report their adoption of PSA-compliant practices. Surveysshowedresults pertaining to the adoption of new or different food safety practices within four months of the PSA training. A notable number of respondents reported they adopted or modified record-keeping systems, farm food safety plans, new trainings, and new methods for cleaning or sanitizing food contact surfaces. Lead Regional Coordination Center The LRCC was charged with coordinating activities across the four regional centers (RCs). Eight meetings were held in the first year of the grant, including a multi-day transition meeting held in Washington, DC, including representatives from each center, the USDA, and FDA. Dates of LRCC communication meetings were: March 13, April 22, May 20, June 28, July 20, August 27, and September 20. The National Coordination Advisory Committee (NCAC) Meeting The fall 2018 meeting in Washington, DC, took the place of what was proposed as the NCAC meeting. Since the time of the proposal, the FSMA collaborative forum has taken on many of the same functions envisioned for the NCAC meeting and the LRCC is a participant in that effort. No additional meeting was held to avoid redundancy. FSOP Coordination Strategy Annual FSOP Meeting National meetings with FSOP project leaders will be conducted in May 2020 and again in 2021. FSOP Outcomes A retrospective survey was created by the lead evaluator, Dr. A. Harder, to assess outcomes of previously funded FSOP projects. The sampling frame was provided by Dr. J. Williams of USDA-NIFA and included 64 projects (excluding the RCs) with funding granted in 2016, 2017, and 2018. An evaluation report was commissioned by USDA-NIFA in 2018 and completed in July 2019. In the fall of 2019, RCs were asked to contact non-respondents again in another attempt to capture the FSOP outcome data. This resulted in five additional responses by the date of this report, which are also presented in a separate appendix. Data obtained from projects after the completion of the 2018-2019 annual report will be included in the 2019-2020 report. A limitation of the method is the accuracy of the contact information provided by USDA-NIFA; in at least one instance, the PI had changed institutions and the contact information was not updated resulting in delays in collecting that project's data. Add-on Material and Alternative Curricula Reviews Solicitation of Co-PIs Interested in Working on Rubric Development With the assistance of FDA, the NCR developed a rubric matrix that will be used for evaluation of the alternate curricula. Creation of Rubrics The alternate curricula rubric created by the NCR was based on the released draft guidance from FDA on alternate curriculum released in June 2/019 (https://www.fda.gov/media/126868/download) and was incorporated into an excel document based on the identified critical objectives. This excel document and full explanation of the process are available on the NCR FSMA website athttps://www.ncrfsma.org/alternate-curriculum. To support the ongoing efforts of FSOPs and other food safety initiatives, WRCEFS has created standardized rubrics for the peer review process for add-on materials being added to the Food Safety Resource Clearinghouse, in collaboration with NECAFS. Two forms (v1) were created and piloted during the WRCEFS 3rd annual meeting in Portland, on May 15-16, 2019: (a) Add-on review request form, and (b) review of add-on materials form. Six add-ons previously developed by WRCEFS (2017-2018) were used to pilot the forms with six groups at the annual meeting. Comments from the working groups were compiled and forms were updated to reflect suggestions for improvements. Revised forms (v2), including (a) Add-on review request form; (b) Quality check form for add-on peer-review request (PRR), and (c)Add-on peer review form,were shared with Regional Centers and LRCC in October 2019. The review forms are planned to be embedded into the FSR Clearinghouse in early 2020, with 'submit to FSR Clearinghouse/select for peer-review' buttons also potentially being added to LRCC and each RC website. Develop Measures to Assist RCs with Evaluating Impacts from Curricula, Add-ons, and Training Materials A best practice guidance document for alternate curriculawill be developed by the conclusion of year 2 by the NCR in August 2020. The NCR is waiting on the final guidance on Alternate Curriculum to be released in early 2020. Regional Center Data RCs were requested to submit their aggregated data for PSA and FSPCA training efforts via a Qualtrics survey. Access to a preview version of the Qualtrics survey was provided to each center for review in spring 2019. The information in this report is intended to be a snapshot of PSA and FSCPA efforts; additional detailed information should be obtained from the RC reports. Short-term outcomes of PSA and FSCPA training were measured using a standardized pre/post-test of knowledge; the instruments were created, tested, and validated by Dr. K. Shoulders from the University of Arkansas during the first iteration of the Southern Center. Dr. Harder worked with an evaluation contact from each RC to establish data collection procedures suitable to each Center's context; in particular, concerns existed about IRB approval, the time needed to implement the tests, participant confidentiality, and methods for aggregating data at each RC. Each RC was given license to adapt the process as needed, with an emphasis on protecting the fidelity of the instruments themselves. RC Meetings 2018-2019 SC Annual Meeting, January 10, 2019, Savannah, GA SC Meeting, July 21, 2019, Louisville, KY NECAFS Annual Meeting, February 1, 2019, Albany, NY NCR Annual Meeting, June 10-11, 2019, Indianapolis, IN WRCEFS Annual Meeting & Western Region USDA NIFA Food Safety Outreach Program Meeting, May 15-16, 2019, Portland, OR

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Narine, L. K., Harder, A., & Danyluk, M. (2019). Floridian producers concerns about the Food Safety Modernization Act. Food Protection Trends, 39(2), 237-244.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Kovacevic, J., J. Waite-Cusic, D. Stone, R. McGorrin, C. DeWitt, T. Dean, E. DiCaprio, A. Pires, B. Rasco, P. Rivadeneira, C. Rock, J. Uyeda. Western Regional Center to Enhance Food Safety. 2019 Annual Meeting, National Consortium for Produce Safety, NASDA. Orlando, FL, March 6-8, 2019. (poster, invited)
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Kovacevic, J. Western Regional Center Continuation: Overview. Southern Center Region Food Safety Outreach Project Meeting. Savannah, GA, January 10, 2019. (oral, invited)
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Kovacevic, J., D. Stone, C. DeWitt, R. McGorrin, T. Dean, E. DiCaprio, A. Pires, B. Rasco, P. Rivadeneira, C. Rock. Western Regional Center to Enhance Food Safety (WRCEFS): Summary 2015-2018 and Continuation 2018-2021. FSOP Transition Meeting, Washington, DC. November 28, 2018. (oral)
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Kovacevic, J. Western Regional Center to Enhance Food Safety (WRCEFS). SRIPS Conference, Atlanta, GA, November 11, 2018. (oral; invited)
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Stone, D., J. Kovacevic. Opportunities to integrate biological and chemical hazard prevention in a disruptive food landscape. European Food Safety Authority Conference, Parma, Italy, September 18-21, 2018. (poster)
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Kovacevic, J., D. Stone. Meeting objectives and introduction to WRCEFS 2.0. Western Regional Center to Enhance Food Safety 3rd Annual Meeting, Portland, OR, May 15-16, 2019. (oral)
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Williams, J., K. Schneider, J. Kovacevic. Lead Regional Center, WRCEFS and FSOPs: Working Together. Western Regional Center to Enhance Food Safety 3rd Annual Meeting, Portland, OR, May 15-16, 2019. (oral)
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Kovacevic, J. WRCEFS and FSOPs  Next steps. Western Regional Center to Enhance Food Safety 3rd Annual Meeting, Portland, OR, May 15-16, 2019. (oral)