Completed Project Report


Community Accreditation for Produce Safety in Vermont

  • Award Amount: $39,838
  • Regional Center: Northeast Extension Risk Management Education Center
  • Grant Program: 2016 Education Projects

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Project Overview

This project helps small- and medium-scale farms that are exempt from the Food Safety Modernization Act to reduce risk and maintain credibility in the marketplace. University of Vermont Extension collaborated with the Vermont Vegetable and Berry Growers Association (VVBGA) to develop Community Accreditation for Produce Safety (CAPS). CAPS uses an on-line platform where farmers learn about best practices, write produce safety plans, and document plan implementation in order to earn accreditation from the VVBGA.

In 2015, 24 farmers tested the system for uploading required documentation, peer-review, and making revisions prior to become accredited. In 2016, 99 farms used CAPS to write produce safety plans and 64 farms completed the process for accreditation. In 2017, 110 farms used CAPS to write produce safety plans, 91 farms pursued accreditation and 87 achieved it by end of the year. The 91 farms had $16.7 million in annual aggregate sales of fresh produce.

Number of Participants: 110

Outcomes

Project Steps

PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS

There are no promotional materials available for this project.

EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS

There are no educational materials available for this project.

REPORTS & EVALUATIONS

There are no reports or evaluations available for this project.

DELIVERY AREA

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INDIVIDUAL STORIES / EXAMPLES OF SUCCESS / QUOTES