Produce Safety Alliance Grower Training
The Safe Produce Indiana team will host an in-person Produce Safety Alliance (PSA) Grower Training in January, the day prior to the Indiana Horticulture and Small Farms Conference. The program will be held on Monday, January 25, 2027, at the Hendricks County Fairgrounds. The cost of attendance is $10 and includes a certificate of course completion, the PSA Grower Training manual, and other training materials. This program has been made possible at a reduced cost by grant funding from the Indiana State Department of Agriculture.
The PSA Grower Training is for fruit and vegetable growers and others interested in learning about produce safety, the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Produce Safety Rule, Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs), and co-management of natural resources and food safety. The PSA Grower Training Course is one way to satisfy the FSMA Produce Safety Rule requirement outlined in § 112.22(c), which requires ‘At least one supervisor or responsible party for your farm must have successfully completed food safety training at least equivalent to that received under standardized curriculum recognized as adequate by the Food and Drug Administration.’
Figure 1. Student Sophia Chiparus harvests produce at the Purdue Student Farm to supply community-supported agriculture (CSA) programs and various campus partnerships in West Lafayette, Indiana (Photo by Joshua Clark, Purdue College of Agriculture).
The trainers will spend approximately seven hours of instruction time covering content contained in these seven modules:
- Introduction to Produce Safety
- Worker Health, Hygiene, and Training
- Soil Amendments
- Wildlife, Domesticated Animals, and Land Use
- Agricultural Water (Part I: Production Water; Part II: Postharvest Water)
- Postharvest Handling and Sanitation
- How to Develop a Farm Food Safety Plan
Growers can learn more and register at the following link: Registration link for Hendricks County Training
The Safe Produce Indiana team is in the process of scheduling additional PSA Grower Trainings for the upcoming winter season. Please visit the Safe Produce Indiana website for an up-to-date list of scheduled training opportunities.