Completed Project Report


Food Safety: A tool for managing risk and expanding direct marketing opportunities

  • Award Amount: $44,228
  • Regional Center: Western Extension Risk Management Education Center
  • Grant Program: 2009 Competitive Grant Program

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Project Overview

A major hurdle to direct marketing is the issue of food safety regulation and liability. Recent widespread food safety violations and meat recalls have increased the importance of communicating to consumers that locally-produced agricultural products have followed government-mandated safety protocols. Quality food safety education needs had been expressed among producers both through written surveys and evaluations and personal communication. This project was designed to address the production, marketing, and financial risks associated with food safety that producers in Nevada commonly face.

One daylong workshop was held in Fallon, in February 2010, with compressed video to seven additional sites in Nevada, and a daylong session was held at the 2010 Indian Agriculture & Rural Summit in May 2010. Speakers included Cooperative Extension educators and agriculture, food safety, and retail professionals. Materials were made available online and were mailed out to interested parties as well.

A total of 93 small crop, livestock, and Native American producers and agribusiness professionals attended the workshops. Participants achieved increased awareness of food safety regulations, the costs of meeting food safety requirements, strategies to use food safety assurances to add value to products, and proper post-harvest handling and storage techniques.

Number of Participants: 93

Outcomes

Project Steps

PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS

There are no promotional materials available for this project.

EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS

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REPORTS & EVALUATIONS

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DELIVERY AREA

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