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Food Safety Classes to Expand in 2013

Last year when E. coli-contaminated strawberries killed two Oregonians and infected over a dozen others Oregon’s three berry commissions formed a joint venture to prevent this from happening again.

The result is a cost-free, three-hour, bilingual food safety training class that is now being offered to farm worker supervisors around the Willamette Valley.
“We call it training the trainers,” said Will Unger, who chairs the Oregon Blueberry Commission’s Food Safety Committee. “We’re targeting everyone, but part of our focus is to try to reach out to small farms that may not have food safety programs in place.”

Last spring the class was taught for the first time in four different growing areas in the Valley with close to 150 supervisors attending, some of those from outside the berry industry. “We left it open to anyone to attend,” Unger said. “There were some vegetable growers who sell at farmer’s markets.”

The classes, which were split into English and Hispanic sessions, were taught by Luisa Santamaria, a bilingual nursery Extension specialist who works out of Oregon State University’s Northwest Research & Extension Center in Aurora.

Strictly geared towards harvest crews, the class is basically modeled after a food safety class the California Strawberry Commission developed for its growers.

Essentially the class dwells on the importance of personal hygiene and the avoidance of animal contaminations in the field. “The idea is to present this to them in a way that they feel they’re saving lives by keeping their hands clean,” Unger said.

Supervisors attending the classes are also informed how they can join ODA’s GAP (Good Agricultural Practices) program, which itself deals with food safety issues also.

The first, or “trial,” year for the program was funded by the three berry commissions. Thanks to a USDA specialty crop matching funds block grant, future food safety classes will be funded on a much broader scale through 2015. The total amount of the federal funds awarded was $54,000.

“We plan on expanding it next year,” said Unger, who heads up grower relations for Oregon Berry Packing, Inc. in Hillsboro. “Last year we did four classes. (Next) year we’re looking at doing 10 to 12 classes, and hopefully reaching some additional areas. We want to make it a 15-minute drive or less.”

Unger said that only five percent to ten percent of Oregon berry farm worker supervisors attended the first food safety classes this year. “We’ve got a long ways to go to reach the rest.

Those supervisors wanting to attend one of the classes should contact Philip Gütt with the Oregon Raspberry & Blackberry Commission at (541) 758-4043.

Oregon Blueberry Commission • P.O. Box 3366 • Salem, Oregon 97302
Paid for by the Oregon Blueberry Commission, an agency of the State of Oregon.