UC helps small scale farmers ensure food safety

ANR News Blog

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News about UC Agriculture and Natural Resources

Author: Jeannette E. Warnert

Published on: May 12, 2011

Richard Molinar will speak about food safety at the Hispanic Farmers Conference May 25.

A heightened awareness of food safety has processors, retailers and consumers demanding that farmers use practices that can be verified as safe, the Fresno Bee reported yesterday. The story focused on the challenges these demands pose for small-scale farmers.

Bee reporter Robert Rodriguez spoke to the owner of an eight-acre Fresno County farm.

"We have been farming for 40 years and have never had a problem, but now we have to document, document, document. I almost burned out my copy machine," the farmer was quoted.

To help growers develop written food safety plans, UC Cooperative Extension small farm advisor Richard Molinar is holding training seminars in English, Spanish and Hmong.

"We knew that the retailers were asking the packinghouses and wholesalers for the food-safety documents and they were beginning to start asking it from the farmers," Molinar was quoted. "They wanted to see written policies in place."

Molinar said he believes the need for written documentation of food safety practices will only expand.

"This is really only just the beginning, and I have no doubt it will get more intense," Molinar said. "The government will eventually come up with some guidelines, but right now this is being driven by the buyers and consumers."

Food safety will be one of the topics at a Hispanic Farmers Conference, to be held in Spanish from 9 a.m. to 12 noon May 25 at the UC Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center. Molinar will be joined by Jose Santellano of Sunnyside Packing in Selma for the 45-minute session on food safety. The Fresno Bee article said Sunnyside will require all if its contract growers to pass a food safety audit starting next year.

For more information about the Hispanic Farmers Conference, see the flyer online.

Tags: food safety (26), Richard Molinar (16)

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