Growing Food Safely

Extension Explores Food-Born Illness Solutions with Certification Classes

Story by Kris Golden

With the growing number of cases related to food-born pathogens on the rise each year, the importance of growing food safely is on more and more farmers’ radar. To help in this endeavor, Watauga County Cooperative Extension will host Tier -1 certification classes through the new MarketReady Fresh Produce Safety Curriculum this month.

Watauga County Cooperative Extension will give local food producers the chance to earn a Tier-1 certification through the new MarketReady Fresh Produce Safety Curriculum during a series of classes later this month.

Classes will take place from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday and Wednesday, October 20 and 21, and on Tuesday and Wednesday, October 27 and 28. In order to receive the Tier-1 certification, attendees must attend all four classes. The cost is $25 total, and the fee includes all printed materials and electronic references. Classes will be held at the Watauga County Agricultural Conference Center, located at 252 Poplar Grove Road in Boone. Extension Agent Richard Boylan will lead the classes, with assistance from Diane Ducharme, Keith Baldwin and Debbie Hamrick.

Agriculture is a large business in Watauga County and these classes offer a chance to educate locals on the importance of growing food safely. With the growing number of cases related to food-born pathogens on the rise each year, public response is pushing for legislation to control produce and foods raised from private food businesses.

“Farmers are keenly interested in implementing practices that minimize risks to the food supply and they are receiving added pressure from industry to implement Good Agricultural Practices and become GAPs certified,” said Diane Ducharme, member of the N.C. State University Program for Value-Added & Alternative Agriculture and co-chair of the N.C. Fresh Produce Safety Task Force.  

Many Wholesale Produce buyers are already demanding a GAP (Good Agricultural Practice) certification from their suppliers. As of yet, no certification is required through any government agencies but many business owners have taken the law into their own hands and are holding growers accountable for their products.

Although legislation is hard at work on putting together guidelines for this issue, all of its concerns have not been addressed on how it would like to control produce being grown by private producers.

The training will focus on Good Agricultural Practices (GAP). A few examples of GAP taught in the course are: checking for sources of waste contamination near crops, verifying safety of water used to irrigate crops, regular hand washing procedures, cleanliness of trucks that transport produce and maintaining the “cold chain” temperature of produce from the field.

Growers completing the course will have the ability to set up their own training for anyone involved with the handling of their fresh produce to ensure the upmost safety. The training would start with safety in the fields and extend its services to the safety once it arrives at a roadside stand.

“North Carolina farmers work hard to provide a safe food supply. They make a conscious effort to address issues that will enhance their operations and alleviate food safety concerns,” said Ducharme. “This training is designed to educate them on research-based practices and to strengthen their current efforts. In short, it helps farmers and the public.”

For more information and/or to register for the classes, call 828-264-3061.

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