Farmers Market Food Safety

Penn State Extension online course aims to educate farmers market vendors on food safety

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — A new Penn State Extension online course can help farmers market vendors advance their knowledge of food safety practices and reduce the risk of foodborne illness.

The “Farmers Market Food Safety” course teaches new and established farmers market vendors the basics of food safety and sanitation. Food safety begins at product harvest and continues through processing, preparation, transportation and point of sale.

The goal of the training is to provide insight into the regulations that apply to farmers markets vendors — depending on what type of product they sell — and some simple strategies to meet those regulations.

The curriculum was developed based on the findings of an innovative five-year study conducted by Penn State food scientists, the results of which show that improvements can be made regarding food safety at farmers markets.

Participants will learn about controlling food safety risks from “farm-to-fork” on topics such as equipping food-safe facilities, sourcing and purchasing ingredients, product handling and preparation, sales and service at the farmers market, and record keeping, traceability and liability. Printable handouts to help control risk and an event checklist also are provided.

To register, visit https://extension.psu.edu/farmers-market-food-safety-online.

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EDITORS: For more information, contact Martin Bucknavage at 814-867-1839 or mwb124@psu.edu.

Penn State Extension