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There is a lot to report since last month.  Here are the highlights:

Additional details are provided below. 
FoodHubNASDA National Consortium Meeting Summary Featured in March Webinar
Please join us on Friday, March 24th, 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM for NECAFS monthly webinar which will f eature a summary discussion of the recently held National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) National Consortium for Produce Safety Program Development Meeting.
 
The recently held NASDA National Consortium Meeting discussed information and approaches to a committed effort to food safety as state, federal, and educational collaborators work together to implement the Produce Safety Rul e.  Regulatory officials from 42 grantee states and 5 additional states, FDA staff, and Extension and other partners participated in the meeting (200 total people) and shared information and best practices that may be applicable to different states and different regions.

The NECAFS March webinar will summarize the information discussed during the National Consortium Meeting.  Presenters include:
    • Abbey Willard, Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets
    • Cindy Martel, West Virginia Department of Agriculture
    • Justine Beaulieu, University of Maryland
    • Michael Botelho, Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources
There will be plenty of time to ask questions and engage in further discussion with the presenters.   

Register and Add Webinar to your calendar.

This webinar is open to the public so please invite others that might be interested.  
FDAFDA Considering Simplifying Ag Water Standards
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration stated on 3/20/17 that it "is exploring ways to simplify the microbial quality and testing requirements for agricultural water established by the Food Safety Modernization Act's (FSMA's) produce safety rule while still protecting public health."

View the full statement from the FDA
UpcomingTrainingUpcoming PSA and FSPCA Trainings in the Region
Upcoming PSA Grower Trainings:
  • Kingston, RI (March 22)
  • Flemmington, NJ (March 22)
  • N. Grafton, MA (March 23)
  • Dighton, MA (March 24)
  • Millbrook, NY (March 30)
  • Batavia, NY (April 5)
  • Portland, ME (April 11 & 12)
For more information and a complete list of upcoming trainings across the country, visit the PSA website.
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Upcoming PSA Train the Trainer:
  • Geneva, NY (May 16-17) Questions? Please contact Gretchen Wall at the PSA
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Upcoming FSPCA Qualified Individual Trainings:
For more information and a complete list of upcoming trainings across the country, visit the FSPCA website.
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Upcoming FSPCA Lead Instructor Training:
  • Kingston, RI (June 7-9): Questions? Please contact Nicole Richard at URI
FSOPNECAFS Will Share Resources and Information from FSOP Projects
NECAFS team members joined the Northeast Food Safety Outreach Program (FSOP) regional meeting held in Syracuse, NY last week.  The meeting provided an opportunity for all the project leads to meet each other, share in depth information on their FSOP projects, and discuss way to communicate and disseminate information between themselves and NECAFS.

The Northeast FSOP projects will address the needs of owners and operators of small to mid-sized farms, beginning farmers, socially-disadvantaged farmers, small processors, and small merchant wholesalers.  As resources and information become available from the regional FSOP projects, NECAFS will serve as the central dissemination point of this material out to stakeholders across the region.  Project material will be featured on the NECAFS website, through the newsletter, and during monthly webinars.
ConnectedStay in Touch
Just a reminder that there are a number of ways to stay in touch with NECAFS and each other.

eNewsletter - Please forward this to your colleagues.  If someone has not received this directly, they should subscribe to the NECAFS eNewsletter list to ensure future delivery. We plan to use this eNewsletter as a regular way to "push" news and information out to the region.

Listserv - A Listserv has also been established to foster more direct conversation among the regional group and to allow you all to "pull" information from each other. Please also consider  subscribing to the NECAFS Listserv. Send an email to listserv@list.uvm.edu. Leave the subject line blank. The only content of the email should be "sub NECAFS {enter your name here and delete the brackets}". To send an email to the listserv distribution list once subscribed, use necafs@list.uvm.edu.
Thanks for your continued interest in NECAFS as we develop the necessary foundation for future collaboration. If you have specific questions or feedback please email necafs@uvm.edu.

Sincerely,
The NECAFS PD Team
Chris Callahan (UVM)
Elizabeth Newbold (UVM)
Betsy Bihn (Cornell)
Amanda Kinchla (UMass)
Luke LaBorde (Penn State)
Chris Walsh (UMD)
The Northeast Center to Advance Food Safety (NECAFS) is an FDA-funded Regional Center (RC) hosted by University of Vermont Extension, led jointly with co-directors from Cornell University, University of Massachusetts, Pennsylvania State University and The University of Maryland and in partnership with stakeholders from the Northeast Region.

Funding for NECAFS was made possible, in part, by the Food and Drug Administration through grant 1R01FD005686, views expressed in written materials or publications and by speakers and moderators do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the Department of Health and Human Services; nor does any mention of trade names, commercial practices, or organization imply endorsement by the United States Government. 
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