Food Safety Education and Planning for Agritourism

1. The “Food Safety Education and Planning for Agritourism” webinar will begin at 12:00 p.m. EST. While you wait, use the “sparkler ” tool on the left of this slide to put a mark on the map to show where you are.

2. Food Safety Education and Planning for Agritourism • Ben Amsden, Plymouth State University • Lisa Chase and LondaNwadike, UVM Extension • December 14, 2011 This material is based upon work supported in part by USDA/NIFA under Award Number 2010-49200-06201.

3. Choose A, B, C or D • Farmer • Extension educator, outreach • Policy or advocacy • Other

4. Choose A, B, C or D • U-pick • Prepared Food • CSA • Other

5. If there is food, folks will come • What is risk? • Simple and complex definitions • Why manage risk? • Protecting customer health • Protecting your business

6. The tools of risk management • Tool #1: The help and advice of experts • Tool #2: A support network of stakeholders • Tool #3: A personalized risk management plan

7. Managing risk: One size can’t fit all • Why isn’t liability insurance enough? • What types of insurance do are out there? • What about working with others? • What if I am doing something unusual? • What are the emerging issues in risk management?

8. Do I need to think about risk? • Do you host activities that involves food and/or alcohol? • Are you familiar with best practices in food safety? • Can you train employees to follow these practices? • Can you ensure that everyone follows best practices? • If a customer has a bad experience, how will you handle it?

9. Outline • Food contamination • How it happens • Impact of food borne illness • Who needs to be concerned with food safety? • Risk-based food safety systems • General food safety principles

10. Food contamination Types • Microbial: bacterial, viral, parasites • disease-causing: pathogens • Chemical: heavy metals, natural toxins, pesticides • Physical: wood, stones, glass, etc

11. How do contaminants get in? • Many foodborne microbes present in intestine of healthy food animals • Meat and poultry can be contaminated in slaughter • Produce: washed or irrigated with contaminated water, other conditions • Processed food: cross contamination, infected humans

12. Results of food contamination • Symptoms of foodborne illness (FBI) • Contaminant enters body through GI tract, so first symptoms usually there • Nausea, vomiting, cramps, diarrhea, etc • FBI outbreaks • More than 250 foodborne diseases described • Examples: Listeria in cantaloupe; E.coli in sprouts, strawberries, spinach; Salmonella in peanut butter, raw milk cheese, etc

13. What is impact of FBI? • Difficult to fully determine • Health effects ($9 billion in health care costs) • Loss of markets requiring assurance of safe food • Reduced shelf life of foods ***Loss of consumer confidence • Under-reporting of FBI, little active surveillance • Source of disease difficult: may be spread through food, drinking water, swim water, personal contact

14. How much FBI occurs? • Yearly in US • 48 million illnesses (1 in 6 people) • 128,000 hospitalizations • 3,000 deaths • Especially concerned about young, old, pregnant, sick

15. Who should be concerned? • Everyone!! • On-farm meal providers • Restaurants • U-pick operations • CSAs • Market vendors • Other agri-tourism operations • Food processors • Food transporters • Consumers

16. Risk-based food safety • Risk: combination of the probability that a particular outcome will occur and the severity of the harm involved • Use risk-based system to control risk factors that may cause disease • Examples: HACCP, GAPs • These help decrease FBI • Provide assurance to customers of food safety • Can also be a management tool

17. General FS principles • Must ensure that premises, equipment, transport and employees do not contribute to or become food safety hazards • Need the following in place: • Sanitation • Pest control • Personal practices/ hygiene • Gloves, handwashing, hygienic clothing • (GHPs, GMPs, SSOPs)

18. Upcoming Food Safety events • Food Safety for Food Processors • Dec 15, Brattleboro, VT • NOFA Direct Marketing Conference • Jan 8, 2012, S. Royalton, VT • Maple food safety- Maple conferences in Jan • VT Food Safety Summit- March 22, 2012 • Food safety, HACCP for meat processors http://www.uvm.edu/extension/food/?Page=food_safety.html

19. Food Safety publications • Farmers Market Vendor Series • General Food Safety Practices, Samples, Selling Fresh Produce • Selling Meat, Eggs and Dairy Products • Selling Prepared Foods and Baked Goods • Food Safety Requirements for VT Food Processors • Key Vermont Slaughter Inspection and Licensing Requirements for Meat Producers • VT Meat Labeling and Packaging Requirements • Food Distributors Operating in Vermont • Food Safety After Floods

20. Resources • www.uvm.edu/tourismresearch/agritourism Webpage with food safety fact sheets and links specifically for agritourism • www.uvm.edu/extension/food Webpage for food safety including upcoming events • Want to talk with a real person about food safety? Contact LondaNwadike at 802-223-2389 ext. 216 or londa.nwadike@uvm.edu