Penn State Extension Offers Food Safety Support At All Levels Of The Food Industry
By Melissa Lind, contributing writer
From large facilities and growers to small food vendors, community organizations, and individuals, Penn State Extension serves the food industry with education, training, and support.
The State of Pennsylvania has a strong agricultural industry which has benefitted its residents through a high-quality food supply. Even though the abundance of food can be credited in large part to agriculture, food companies in the state also have access to Penn State Extension services to help ensure the safety of food produced in Pennsylvania.
According to Martin Bucknavage, Senior Food Safety Extension Associate at Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, “Penn State has one of the top food science programs in the country.” The Extension services benefit from research done in the college with food safety educators who play a major role in supporting food producers and processors throughout the state. Additionally, the Extension offers training programs in food safety and sanitation, along with more-advanced certificate programs for food processors and retail food handlers. Penn State also conducts HACCP training and offers educational programs to volunteer groups, churches, and civic organizations.
Bucknavage believes the success of the Extension’s work is due to its services provision of unbiased and science-based information. The agency has become a trusted source on food-safety issues and industry best practices. Education, training, and support are provided to everyone working with food. Whether it is a large corporation, a small food-cart vendor, a church group, or a home canner, the Extension has become a science-backed resource.
Penn State Extension also provides follow-up support. The relationship with industry and community members may be opened through a training class but the agency is available for consults and even inspections after the training. Food industry workers within the state, such as Bill Green, quality assurance manager at Giorgi Mushrooms, say that Penn State goes out of its way to help growers in the area. He indicates that as a small grower, his business wouldn’t necessarily be able to send a number of employees to a centralized training program at the university. Penn State Extension is able to bring a program into his area that all of his employees and other growers can benefit from.
Penn State Extension also tackles unusual problems, according to Jessica Britz, food safety specialist at Four Seasons Produce. Her company works with a number of local, Amish growers who were apprehensive about becoming GAP (Good Agricultural Practices) certified growers, but Britz was able to work with the Extension services to get those growers certified by utilizing a certification template. In doing so, the Amish farmers were able to complete the process without difficulty.
Penn State Extension serves food industry businesses and individual in every state of Pennsylvania. More information about the Extension food-safety programs is available online.