By Rebekah Hall
Arkansas fruit and vegetable growers are invited to learn food safety best practices and regulatory requirements at the first produce safety grower training of 2026 on April 9.
The training will take place at the C.A. Vines Arkansas 4-H Center at 1 Four H Way in Little Rock from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Registration is free and includes lunch, snacks and training materials. Attendance is limited to 25 spots, and participants must register online by April 6. Walk-ins will not be accepted.
“We are looking forward to working with growers to provide them with important information about best practices, risk management and regulatory requirements,” said Amanda Philyaw Perez, extension associate professor of food systems and food safety specialist for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.
The training will cover soil amendments, postharvest handling, worker health and hygiene, wildlife management and more.
Perez said that the 2026 series of extension produce safety grower trainings were made possible through the Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure Grant program, or RFSI. Two more trainings will be offered this summer and fall.
The Arkansas Department of Agriculture administers the RFSI program through funding provided by the United States Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service.
Source : uada.edu