On-Farm Food Safety Trainings for Direct Marketers Resources
August 8, 2011 at Pond Hill Farm in Harbor Springs, MI
August 9, 2011 at Rock River Farm in Chatham, MI
August 15, 2011 at Uhlianuk Farm in North Branch, MI
Production Practices
Food Safety Begins on the Farm: A Grower Self Assessment for Food Safety Risks – Rangarajan, A., E. Bihn, M. Pritts, and R. Gravani
This handbook provides a compilation of sell-assessment worksheets to help farmers review and evaluate farm management and production practices to identify potential risks of microbial contamination to fruits and vegetables.
Postharvest Handling
Two Vegetable Wash Station Designs – Iowa Fruit and Vegetable Working Group
An online tool to help vegetable growers construct efficient wash stations.
Self-inspection Guide for Farmers’ Markets – Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development
A one-page document that assists market managers and vendors in assessing the safety of temporary sites.
Guidelines for Providing Safe Food Samples at Farmers’ Markets - Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development
This document includes guides for vendors providing food samples at farmers markets. It addresses processed food sampling, fresh fruit and vegetable sampling, and meat sampling.
Self-inspection Guide for Farmers’ Markets – Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development
A one-page document that assists market managers and vendors in assessing the safety of temporary sites.
Facility Sanitation and Transportation
Licensing
Growing Michigan’s Future: A Guide to Marketing Your Michigan Food and Agriculture Products – Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development
Chapter two of this resource addresses direct marketing and chapter five addresses food safety, licensing and labeling regulations.
Licensing at Farmers’ Markets – Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development
This site defines farmers markets, farm markets and roadside stands and cites exemptions from licensing based on law and policy.
Additional Resources
Federal and State Agriculture Departments’ Financial Assistance Programs – Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development
This document identifies and describes a variety of federal and state financial assistance programs.
On-Farm Food Safety Project – FamilyFarmed.org
This site features resources including a free online tool which generates customized on-farm food safety plans based on user input, as well as manual templates, and templates for logs and record-keeping.
Food Safety Begins on the Farm Good Agricultural Practices for Fresh Fruits and Vegetables: A Grower’s Guide – Anusuya Rangarajan, Elizabeth A. Bihn, Robert B. Gravani, Donna L. Scott, and Marvin P. Pritts
A descriptive guide to food safety concerns on the farm.
Farm Food Safety Helpful Resources – Penn State Cooperative Extension
A list containing training resources, advice for growers, information on specific vegetable crops and much more.
How Do I Write a Food Safety Plan: Policies and Procedures – Penn State Cooperative Extension
The policy and procedures suggestions in this document will help you to complete your food safety plan. Remember… What you write in your plan must be an accurate reflection of your practices.
How Do I Write a Food Safety Plan: Checklists and Forms – Penn State Cooperative Extension
Use these checklists and forms to document your farm food safety practices.
University Resources
Organic Farming Exchange: Food Safety – Michigan State University
This site provides Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) resources for food safety and links to organic labeling videos.
Penn State Extension Food Safety – Penn State University
Read food safety news, take food safety courses, find resources and more at this site.
GAPsNET: Good Agricultural Practices Network for Education and Training – Cornell University
A site with resources and information on GAP certification and on-farm food safety in English, Spanish, Hmong, Lao and Ilocano.
