Back to top

Twilight Meeting: Produce Wash Station Design, Use and Maintenance

Event date/time: 
Tuesday, September 26, 2017 - 4:00pm to 6:30pm

(note: this meeting is at the main farm on River Rd, and NOT at the Atlas Farm store on Routes 5 & 10 in S. Deerfield)

FSMA’s Produce Rule states that equipment, tools, and buildings must be of adequate design and able to be cleaned and properly maintained. What does this mean? We will discuss the range of options available for growers of different scales to meet these requirements. We’ll tour the wash house with a recirculating hydrocooler at Atlas Farm with owner, Gideon Porth, and hear about the design of a mobile wash station by Amanda Brown from the UMass Student Farm. Hear how these two farmers have navigated the process of becoming Commonwealth Quality Program (CQP) certified and eased their fears about new regulations while accessing new markets. We will also cover how to develop Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and keep sanitation records.

Michael Botelho from the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources will provide a regulatory update on CQP and Massachusetts’ new Produce Inspection Program to implement FSMA’s Produce Rule.

Extension Educators will be on-hand to give input and answer questions on the following topics:

  • Infrastructure upgrade decision-making – Chris Callahan, University of Vermont Extension Agricultural Engineer
  • Developing useful SOPs – Amanda Kinchla, UMass Food Science Extension

A light dinner will be provided.

There is no cost for this program, but please RSVP here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/8QWR52Q

Co-sponsored by UMass Extension and Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (CISA)

Contact's name: 
Lisa McKeag
Contact's email: 
Contact's phone on day of event: 
413-577-3976
635 River Road Deerfield MA

The Center for Agriculture, Food and the Environment and UMass Extension are equal opportunity providers and employers, United States Department of Agriculture cooperating. Contact your local Extension office for information on disability accommodations. Contact the State Center Director’s Office if you have concerns related to discrimination, 413-545-4800 or see ag.umass.edu/civil-rights-information.