Safety First: GAPs and Food Safety Issues for Farmers Markets

Food safety has moved to the forefront of public discussion as Congress strives to pass food safety reform on the heels of widespread contamination issues in recent years. Customers at farmers markets have the benefit of  buying directly from their food producers, and direct-marketing farmers have an opportunity to leverage this accountability and transparency to take proactive measures that minimize safety risks. 

In this webinar, Elizabeth (Betsy) Bihn, program coordinator of the National Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) program will teach you why food safety plans are critical even at small, direct-market farms. She'll also explain some of the types of activities that a GAP-certified farm must do. Andy Sarjahani, who has worked with many small farmers as they have gotten their certification, will help you to understand what is involved in the process of certification, and share some effective techniques to work with farmers to convince them that this is an important priority. Finally, market managers themselves have to be mindful of food safety, particularly at chef demos, when food is sampled, and other similar situations. Brigitte Moran, who regularly hosts these types of activities at her nine farmers markets in the San Francisco/Oakland Bay area, will share her straightforward policies for controlling food-borne illness and keeping the health department happy.

About the presenters...

Elizabeth Bihn is a Senior Extension Associate in the Department of Food Science at Cornell University. Betsy received her B.S. in Zoology from the Ohio State University and her M.S. in Horticulture from the University of Florida.  Since 1999, she has been the program coordinator for the National Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) Program.  The goal of the National GAPs Program is to reduce microbial risks to fresh fruits and vegetables through a comprehensive education and extension program for growers and farm workers.  In addition, Betsy has been an instructor for international GAPs training programs conducted by the Joint Institute for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition and has presented many extension talks and workshops throughout the U.S.  She is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Food Microbiology at Cornell University on a part-time basis. 

Andy Sarjahani is a Registered Dietitian and former sustainability coordinator for the nationally recognized Virginia Tech Dining Services program.  In this position, Andy initiated the first Farm to College program at Virginia Tech and helped establish a food court venue dedicated to serving local, organic, and sustainably produced food. He has held internships on a pasture-based, livestock farm as well as an organic vegetable farm. Andy will begin graduate school at Montana State University in the fall to pursue a Master of Science in Nutrition with a focus on Sustainable Food Systems.

Brigitte Moran is the Executive Director of Marin Farmers Markets, a nonprofit operating nine farmers markets in the Northern California region. She has been in the farmers market industry for 22 years, and is currently involved with the Marin Convention and Visitors Bureau, Marin Agricultural Land Trust and Marin History Museum, and is a member of the National Produce Market Managers, California Alliance for Family Farms, Organic Farming Research Foundation, and Marin Organic. She also serves as a Director on the Boards of the Farmers Market Coalition, Marin Center for Volunteerism, the Marin Visitors Bureau,and the San Rafael Chamber of Commerce.