Recipient Organization
LINCOLN UNIVERSITY
820 CHESTNUT ST
JEFFERSON CITY,MO 651023537
Performing Department
College of Agriculture
Non Technical Summary
The primary reason small farmers and food processors/producers lack food safety knowledge and skills is the cost and lack of time to attend trainings and being unaware of food safety requirements. Many small farmers/processors have been overlooked in food safety trainings due to exempt status, Consumers are seeking and buying more locally produced food than ever increasing the demand for locally produced food. Ensuring safe food starts on the farm and includes harvesting, packing, holding, processing, transporting, marketing and distribution. Any small farmer/processor can easily cause food borne illness from the same practices as the large food producers. All food should be produced in a safe manner regardless of exempt status. This effort provides no-cost training to the targeted audience using online formats. The result will be greatly increased knowledge of food safety practices.Developing Missouri specific food safety guidebooks will help the targeted audience towards food safety compliance. Anyone making food for the consumer must follow the Missouri Food Code (hereafter the "Code"). The Code covers any operation that prepares, packages, serves, or vends food directly to the consumer or otherwise provides food for human consumption, directly providing food to the public, delivery of food, restaurants and mobile units. This effort targets small processors and small farmers making food on their premises as well as in culinary incubator/shared kitchen clients.An overlapping area exists with Shared Kitchens and exempt farmers making food - may be included in the Code definition yet may also be processing. Processing addresses a commercial operation that manufactures, packages, labels, or stores food for human consumption, and provides food for distribution to other businesses such as food processing plants or food establishments (the latter is mainly restaurants). A difference is selling directly to the consumer or as a wholesaler. FSMA Preventive Control (PC) and the Code go into depth on different aspects. Food producers that sell directly to the consumer and retailer should have knowledge of both PC and the Code. LPHD inspectors with the knowledge of PC will be able to provide improved customer services to those small processors that do both.The demand for local product, the desire to buy directly from the grower/processor, convenience, maintaining social distancing and keeping money in the local economy are all factors in this consumer choice.FM lacks the expenses of a store front and marketing, hence are a primary choice for the socially disadvantaged.Missouri hosts 244 FM.The LPHD inspectors oversee food safety at the markets, usually once a year;the FM managers are supposed to oversee food safety.FM products approved for sale by the local markets vary.Some foods do not fall within the Cottage Law (no inspection needed) and are often sold without the benefit of inspection.Frequent food safety FM infractions include improper temperatures, improper labeling, inspected facilities not used when required, shelled nuts w/o inspection, selling to those who resell, cross contamination with allergens and canned and fermented foods without inspection. The result is a high chance of food borne illness.Helping the market vendors and managers understand the food rules will enhance ensuring safe food. The result will be a tremendous impact on improving food safety for consumers.The primary source of information and assistance to Missouri small farmers is the LU ISFOP.The staff targets We have five regions (30 counties) During FY 2020, of our 123 ISFOP client families, 70 had adopted at least one new technology, and some adopted as many as four. The greatest number of technologies adopted were in Food Safety/GAPs (42).This fact demonstrates the capability and acceptance of on-farm services by ISFOP staff to Missouri's small farmers.Providing good on-farm customer service necessitates having qualified field staff that are knowledgeable about the food safety requirements and best practices. ISFOP staff will be trained and they will promote the training opportunities for their small farmer clients, many of which are food processors or have value-added kitchens on site. On-farm visits will help with identifying and adopting good practices. This assistance will make farmers aware and help them to access the resources needed to produce safe food and become food safety compliant. This in turn will improve their overall well-being and contribute to safe, healthy food sources and products for the local community and state.One food borne illness could put a small farmer/processor out of business. The small farmers/processors the ISFOP staff serve, although exempt, highly desire to be food safety compliant.An On-Farm Food Safety training, similar to the popular Michigan Risk Assessment training, will empower the ISFOP with the knowledge and capability to provide improved on-farm customer service regarding food safety.Personally evaluating on-farm food safety practices will provide opportunities to share new technologies and practices for adapting on the farm.The knowledge will also help small farmers and processors develop or modify their food safety plan ensuring practices address food safety issues.Therefore, this On-Farm Food Safety Training will be an asset to both the farmers and ISFOP staff.This same approach is very effective in other states.Since 2019 the Missouri Enterprise Program has worked 172 projects with 87 clients in the food business; 53 in the very small category.The MEP supports development and improvements for human and animal food production efforts. Animals that eat unsafe feed pose a risk to humans consuming that animal product or use that product in their processing.MDA Bureau of Feed and Seed regulates animal feed and has increased their regulatory capacity.In 2020 changes were made to focus on food safety.Missouri has about 250 small animal feed mills; this audience is in need of PC Animal training.PC Animal training will empower small farmers and processors to understand the acceptable animal feed requirements; some animals are fed improperly.This training will lead to safer animal protein available to the consumer and help those small entrepreneursIn 2020, 13% did not meet the FSMA Animal Feed compliance requirements reported in the 2020 Summary Report of Commercial Feed Inspections.Using MEP to reach these small producers and feed mills will help to improve the animal feed resulting in healthier food for consumers.This effort is in direct alignment with the 2019 Governor issued Show-Me-State Food, Beverage and Forest Manufacturing Initiative. They conducted extensive research to learn the food needs and opportunities in Missouri. The reports states "Lincoln University is active in outreach to small operations and minority and disadvantaged farmers. A growth area has been in vegetable production by small producers using high tunnel production. Lincoln University also has a commercial kitchen that is used for demonstrations with potential value-added producers". The report picks Lincoln University a chosen location for developing a regional food system and developing supply chains for local food systems focusing on local food production, FM, buying local preferences contributing to the long viability of agriculture.
Animal Health Component
75%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
0%
Applied
75%
Developmental
25%
Goals / Objectives
1. To increase the knowledge and capacity of 600 beginning farmers, small farmers, small processors and fruit/vegetable wholesale merchants, collectively, to comply with FSMA, the state Missouri Food Code and food safety requirements.2. To increase capactiy of 40 Local Public health Department inspectors to ensure meeting FSMA and food safety regulations statewide.3. To increase the capacity of 13 Lincoln University Innovative Small Farm Outreach Program staff to provide current and relevant food safety guidance on-farm.4. To provide Food Manager food safety training to 100 Farmers Market vendors and consult with 15 market managers to increase food safety annually.5. To increase food safety in Culinary Incubators/Shared Kitchens by providing 20 managers.clients annually with Food Manager food safety trinings.
Project Methods
This effort will provide the following trainings annually: 3 FSMA PC for Humans, 3 FSMA PC for Animals and 3 HACCP, 20 Food Manager - statewide to beginning farmers, small farmers, small processors and fruit/vegetable wholesale merchants and on-farm and direct consulting food service providers.Collaborating with effective and efficient agencies with the support staff and outstate infrastructures make this effort possible. An emphasis is on working together with good communications, input and feedback from all the collaborators. Bi-annual ZOOM meetings will ensure discussions to address updates, problem resolution, questions and opportunities.Meeting minutes will be made available. Frequent communications will be electronically. The collaborator are the Lincoln University ISFOP, the Missour Enterpirse program, and the Small Business Development Centers. The later two have offices conveinetly located statewide within the LU ISFOP regions. The PI will work directly with the FM and Culinary Incubator/Shared Kitchens.The trainers are notified so they may schedule a training, as potential training participants are identified, full classes are needed. After being scheduled, collaborators are sent promotional flyers, they are distributed widely where the potential clients frequent. Using their established communication systems and satellite offices, they will spread the word widely to recruit participants. As these groups take on new clients and interact with those needing training and desiring to develop a food business, food safety plan or needing food safety education they will share that contact with the PI. News releases, flyers and social media are used for promotional efforts.All training participations is strictly voluntary.An application process ensures the targeted audience has priority registering for trainings. If classes need more participation to fill - the general public will be allowed to register, at their own expense. Training registration will be through the PI.After being accepted, the contact information is provided to training instructors. They independently contact participants, arrange and hold the trainings. A voucher system will be used for trainer payments (LU sends blanket PO, training occurs, vendor invoices LU and LU makes payment).The On-Farm Food Safety workshop will be a modification of Michigan's proven Produce Risk Assessment. Staff will work with the proven similar workshop coordinators in other states to develop the agenda. Modifications will be specific for Missouri's geography and growing conditions. An expert will be hired to lead the workshop (TBD). An On-Farm Food Safety Guidebook, in an easy to follow risk assessment checkoff list style, will provide both on-farm service providers and small farmers a tool to assess current practices and the food safety plan. Michigan's Produce Safety Risk Assessment publication will serve as a guide. Staff will lead this in collaborations with ISFOP staff. Copies will be downloadable from the internet from the ISFOP website. A similar checkoff for cGMP will also be developed and shared as above. All documents are translated into Spanish.Evaluations of all the trainings/efforts and the workshop will measure the increase in knowledge and skills. A summary of pre- and post- evaluations will be shared with the collaborators and NIFA reporting. The PI will send, receive and tally pre- and post-training evaluations. The third year the casuals will contact participants to learn what practices have been adopted. Results are shared as an ongoing basis and in reporting efforts. The last year participants will be surveyed to learn the new practices and technologies they adapted and any challenges they face.English and Spanish Guidebooks (Food Code, labeling, cGMO, On-Farm Safety) written in plain language will be distributed widely. Food growers and processors must follow the Missouri Food Code (hereafter "the Code"). The Code, written in legal format, is difficult to understand and hard to follow. Local governments must follow the code but may have more restrictions. We will develop a general guideline that interprets the Code in common language. Appendices will include LPHD contacts, examples for specific requirements, a "What to expect during an Inspection" section and resources for more information. To ensure understandability, accuracy and meeting needs a few small farmers, processors and LPDH will review in advance. After production, the publication is available to anyone as a downloadable document from the LU ISFOP and LU Food Safety websites.The FDA, US DHSS and USDA Food Standards and Labeling Policy Book labeling guides are very cumbersome and difficult to understand. A simple to understand labeling guidebook will help the targeted audience with easy to understand language, quick references, examples and resources. Small farmers, small processors, inspectors and regulators all need to ensure proper labelling. A Spanish translation will be produced and distributed as above. The LU ISFOP staff will continue to provide on-farm services. LU's mission is to serve small farmers - especially the socially disadvantaged, while MU focuses on large farms. ISFOP is critical to serving the targeted audience. The audience often lack computers or internet connections. Therefore, loaner lap tops and assistance finding local places that offer free Wi Fi, such as libraries, community centers, banks, etc. will be provided as needed. It is critical to provide the targeted audience with resources they need to learn about food safety, many lack such lack such. The lap tops are distributed from the PI, using the collaborator sites statewide as appropriate. The PI will coordinate all trainings with the collaborators as described above. To reach the hard to reach small farmers and processors the PI will travel to FM and Culinary Incubators/Shared Kitchens to recruit those in need of trainings.