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INVESTIGATOR: Hashem, F. M.; Millner, P.; Cotton, C. P.; Dadson, R. B.; Schwarz, J.; Parveen, S.; Kniel, K.; Karns, J.

PERFORMING INSTITUTION:
UNIV OF MARYLAND EASTERN SHORE
PRINCESS ANNE, MARYLAND 21853

BUILDING AN INTERDISCIPLINARY EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM ON FOOD SAFETY FOR FRESH FRUITS AND VEGETABLES

NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY: Small-scale fruit and vegetable producers, using conventional and organic approaches, must establish and implement food safety standards for their operations from pre-harvest through post-harvest stages. These standards are customized to each operation, but include some elements that are common across all operations. Research and education are needed to determine limits for microbiological parameters for irrigation, agricultural sprays, and wash water quality as well as soil amendments. Graduates with broad training in pre- and post-harvest operations, food safety, and agriculture/horticulture (including crop, soil, water, and environmental factors) are needed by the fresh produce industry to staff future operations/facilities. The extension of research and best practices knowledge to local farm and networked marketers of produce is needed to sustain productivity within a framework of environmental and resource conservation and stewardship. This project will: 1) strengthen the food safety education capacity of faculty at UMES through specific training in Rapid Methods for Food Microbiology; 2) develop and use an integrated educational program on food safety of fresh fruits and vegetables at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) by delivering two new courses: Microbial Safety of Fresh Fruits and Vegetables and Rapid Methods for Pathogen Detection; 3) strengthen faculty capacity to utilize and incorporate digital and alternative teaching methods in new course materials developed on the safety of fresh produce for UMES and University of Delaware (UDel), with guidance from UDel faculty; and 4) train at least two faculty, two graduate, and 20 undergraduate students in microbiological and research aspects of food safety of fresh fruits and vegetables from farm-to-fork. This teaching project addresses the need for state-of-the-art, authoritative information and instructional approaches through the cooperative efforts of UDel and USDA-ARS with UMES.

OBJECTIVES: Small-scale fruit and vegetable producers, using conventional and organic approaches, must establish and implement food safety standards for their operations from pre-harvest through post-harvest stages. These standards are customized to each operation, but include some elements that are common across all operations. Research and education are needed to determine limits for microbiological parameters for irrigation, agricultural sprays, and wash water quality as well as soil amendments. Graduates with broad training in pre- and post-harvest operations, food safety, and agriculture/horticulture (including crop, soil, water, and environmental factors) are needed by the fresh produce industry to staff future operations/facilities. The extension of research and best practices knowledge to local farm and networked marketers of produce is needed to sustain productivity within a framework of environmental and resource conservation and stewardship. This project will: 1) strengthen the food safety education capacity of faculty at UMES through specific training in Rapid Methods for Food Microbiology; 2) develop and use an integrated educational program on food safety of fresh fruits and vegetables at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) by delivering two new courses: Microbial Safety of Fresh Fruits and Vegetables and Rapid Methods for Pathogen Detection; 3) strengthen faculty capacity to utilize and incorporate digital and alternative teaching methods in new course materials developed on the safety of fresh produce for UMES and University of Delaware (UDel), with guidance from UDel faculty; and 4) train at least two faculty, two graduate, and 20 undergraduate students in microbiological and research aspects of food safety of fresh fruits and vegetables from farm-to-fork. This teaching project addresses the need for state-of-the-art, authoritative information and instructional approaches through the cooperative efforts of UDel and USDA-ARS with UMES.