Progress 09/01/17 to 08/31/18
Outputs
Target Audience:Primary audience was managers, employees, and volunteers at food sovereignty gardens run by American Indians in California's Eastern Sierra. Secondary audience was consumers, mostly American Indian, buying produce at tribal farmers' markets. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?As a result of the project the Bishop Tribe's Environmental Management Office is willing to host food safety training for the other tribes. While this training has not yet occurred in the award period, the planning for this process began in June. At a meeting on August 22 all four tribes met with Intertribal Agriculture Council to discuss further food safety training plans. Part of the process of conducting the work set out in the project was to provide training to our sub-award partner, Bishop Paiute Tribe, in food safety assessment. Training was conducted March 5 and 6, 2018 at University of California, Davis. This person is now able to answer produce food safety questions for neighboring tribes. During the site assessments and follow up visits by the Bishop Paiute Tribe, the technician provided one-on-one education in food safety as it related to each individual garden. A report was prepared with the results and recommendations for each garden that was provided to each Food Sovereignty Garden manager. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?A presentation introducing the project to the Center and explaining its goals was given to the Annual Meeting of the Western Regional Center to Enhance Food Safety at Davis, California on March 27 and 28, 2018. A poster reviewing the project's goals and findings was presented at the 2018 Food Safety Outreach Program Directors' Meeting in Blacksburg Virginia on August 21 and 22, 2018. In the coming months, we plan to publish the results of the project in an academic journal. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
This project had four main food safety outreach objectives: Identify potential food safety risks in food sovereignty gardens through on-site inspection and interviews; Raising awareness of FSMA and providing guidance on its implementation in food sovereignty gardens; Consumer outreach at market outlets for food sovereignty gardens' produce; Review and potentially modify existing educational and technical materials for tribal use. Additionally, this project had an ancillary goal to pilot test using a paid, tribal sub-awardee to facilitate the process of working on reservation lands. Each goal and a brief discussion the sub-award model are covered below. Identifying Food Safety Risks Our goal of identifying food safety risks was successful and we exceeded our goals. In August all 5 existing food sovereignty gardens were inspected by a trained employee of the Bishop Paiute tribe. Additionally a new garden in development in Big Pine asked to be audited for current risks. Each garden manager received a report of findings for their gardens in the form a summary letter and a copy of food safety audit forms used during the on-site inspections. The audits found some common themes during the site visits, both positive and negative. On the positive side, all sites had documented annual water quality testing since the water was provided through tribes' municipal water system. Pre-inspection interviews revealed every garden was concerned with the safety of their produce sold or delivered for market. Although there were some deficiencies present, every garden had an assigned employee of the tribe responsible for food safety. Three locations had at least one employee that received food safety training, and had records of that training. All but one site had toilet cleaning logs; tribal maintenance department managed cleaning for them. Overall, all sites had good hygiene practices. No pesticides were applied to any of the crops being raised for sale. In terms of risky practices, there were two main issues noted. Most sites were doing a great job cleaning work surfaces and containers after use, however no sites were sanitizing or cleaning prior to use. All programs wash and prepare produce in a shared kitchen. While processing produce, they have exclusive use of the kitchen, but otherwise during the week it is used by others. Except for one location that was purchasing compost from a commercial facility that provided an analysis report with each load, compost and manure use were identified as the source of most concern in these gardens. Two sites were using a combination of raw and composted manures in the garden. All others were using cured composts; sometimes it was manure-free. It was clear that more training on compost and manure management is needed. While every garden had detailed records of planting and marketing, there was insufficient documentation of practices, issues and application of inputs at each garden. Three major items identified at all gardens included: no standard operating procedures exist, there are no refrigeration logs for stored produce, and there are no animal entry logs or reports. This final issue is important on reservations as there are many loose animals present. There were other minor issues with documentation, but these were the most serious. Because of this project, local tribes now have access to a trained source of food safety knowledge from a tribal resource rather than an outside government or university. This could provide them with a more culturally sensitive means to get information. FSMA Guidance Each garden manager was interviewed to determine whether FSMA would apply to the garden, and if compliance would be needed in the near future. Garden managers were informed of the law through this process. Currently, all gardens were found to be exempt due to their operations' size. A major concern was whether some food sovereignty practices used in raising produce would require an exemption if FSMA would apply. While this question was moot because of their small size, there were no practices identified by garden managers that would need future protection. All sites were recommended to improve composting practices or documentation, and to improve documentation overall as a means of providing traceability and better food safety at the site. Consumer Outreach In order to improve consumer knowledge of safe food handling, two pamphlets produced by UC Davis faculty were distributed. Our original goal was to identify and modify, if necessary, existing materials and if none existed, to create our own. We used "Safe Handling of Fruits and Vegetables" (including the magnetic insert) and "Food Safety Tips for Your Edible Home Garden". These met all our needs and were easy to obtain. We added a small label on the front noting that these were provided by the Food Sovereignty Program and UC Cooperative Extension. We had planned to distribute these at community events, but the tribes changed their plans so these were given at farmers' markets instead. Review and Modify Technical Materials As mentioned in an earlier report section, the program modified an existing GAP audit form developed for urban farms that was distributed by the UC Small Farm Program. It was modified to better serve our needs and to reflect tribal differences in agricultural regulations from the State of California. To train our sub-awardee, we used the Produce Safety Alliance slide set, but skipped some material that was out of scope of this project or would not be present in a tribal garden of this nature. Using the modified GAP audit, a practice inspection of the UC Davis Student Farm was conducted. Sub-awardee Process Discussion Using a tribal program to conduct the food safety audits worked well. Tribes were honest and forthcoming during inspections. The tribe we worked with appreciated the opportunity for training, and it provided work for an employee that would otherwise be laid off during part of the time. I believe both the Bishop tribe and UC Cooperative Extension benefited from the arrangement. This is a model that is probably worth pursing in other situations when Tribal Sovereignty can conflict with other governments on sensitive matters. I would advise if this model is used elsewhere, that there is a good prior relationship between the grantee and the sub-awardee.
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Blakey, D. and DiCaprio, E. (2018) Identifying Food Safety Risks in Indigenous Food Sovereignty Gardens. Poster Presentation at Food Safety Outreach Program Directors Meeting. Blacksburg, VA.
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