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.

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Food Safety Education and Planning for

Agritourism Ben Amsden, Plymouth State University

Lisa Chase and Londa Nwadike, UVM Extension

December 14, 2011This material is based upon work supported in part by USDA/NIFA under Award Number 2010-49200-06201.

Choose A, B, C or DA. FarmerB. Extension educator, outreachC. Policy or advocacyD. Other

Choose A, B, C or DA. U-pickB. Prepared FoodC. CSAD. Other

If there is food, folks will come

• What is risk?– Simple and complex definitions

• Why manage risk?– Protecting customer health– Protecting your business

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

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?

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?

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

Food contaminationTypes• Microbial: bacterial, viral, parasites

– disease-causing: pathogens• Chemical: heavy metals, natural toxins,

pesticides• Physical: wood, stones, glass, etc

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

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

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

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

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

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

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)

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 processorshttp://www.uvm.edu/extension/food/?Page=food_safety.html

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

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 Londa Nwadike at 802-223-2389 ext. 216 or londa.nwadike@uvm.edu