PSA Curriculum
The PSA recognizes the diversity of fruit and vegetable growers across the country, including the wide range of commodities grown, farm sizes, regional climates, and market venues. The PSA curriculum has been designed as a standardized course and is intended to provide a consistent foundation of produce safety and FSMA Produce Safety Rule information.
The course materials have been vetted and reviewed by subject matter experts, FDA Division of Produce Safety staff, university educators, regulatory officials, produce growers, and produce industry members from all over the country. For additional information on how these curriculum materials were developed, visit our psatrainers [at] cornell.edu (subject: File%20request%3A%202011%20PSA%20Proceedings, body: Please%20do%20not%20edit%20the%20following%3A%0ARequest%20for%20the%20following%20file%20reference%3A%20https%3A%2F%2Fcornell.app.box.com%2Ffile%2F485093865684%0A) (National Training & Educational Materials Conference Summary) (file available by request), Working Committees, and Focus Groups page on the website.
The PSA Grower Training Course is one way to satisfy the FSMA Produce Safety Rule requirement outlined in § 112.22(c) that requires ‘At least one supervisor or responsible party for your farm must have successfully completed food safety training at least equivalent to that received under standardized curriculum recognized as adequate by the Food and Drug Administration.’
The PSA Grower Training manual has been translated into several languages which are listed under the "PSA Curriculum" navigation links to the left. If you or your organization are interested in translating the PSA's materials, please contact dmp274 [at] cornell.edu (Donna Clements) to discuss PSA's translation policy. Once additional materials are translated, they will be made publicly available in electronic format for download.
Produce Safety Alliance Grower Training Manual
The PSA Grower Training Course Manual includes:
- All seven curriculum module slide sets and teaching notes;
- Codified language of the FSMA Produce Safety Rule;
- FSMA Produce Safety Rule Regulatory Reference Table;
- Glossary of terms;
- Farm Food Safety Plan writing resources;
- FDA, USDA-AMS, and USDA-NRCS Resources for Growers, and;
- References.
All registered PSA Grower Training Courses must provide each attendee with the PSA Grower Training Manual if they want to receive the PSA/AFDO Certificate of Course Completion. The PSA Grower Training Manual, available in print for English and Spanish, is $50, plus shipping, and will be the trainer’s responsibility to purchase from the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station (NYSAES) Bookstore.
Grower Manual Sections
The following appear in the Grower Training manual and are provided here as a digital reference.