Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/603228
24 DECEMBER 2015 Good Fruit Grower www.goodfruit.com Grant will help WSTFA provide training for new FDA regulations. by Geraldine Warner T he Washington State Tree F r u i t A s s o c i a t i o n h a s received a grant of almost $217,000 to provide training to orchardists and fruit pack- ing houses on how to comply with new food safety regulations. The Food and Drug Administration is issuing regulations as it implements the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2010. The grant will come from federal Specialty Crop Research Initiative funds administered by the Washington State Department of Agriculture. Jon DeVaney, president of the Tree Fruit Association, said the first training event will be a food safety class on the afternoon of December 9, during the association's Annual Meeting in Yakima, which will review the key issues relating to the Produce Safety and the Preventive Controls rules that will impact growers and packers. Early next year, the association will present several training sessions in Yakima and Wenatchee addressing spe- cifics of those two rules as well as the Transportation Rule and the Foreign Supplier Rule, which could impact pack- ing companies that import fruit, such as managed apple varieties, from other countries. DeVaney said the timeline for the training has not yet been fixed because the industry is still working to understand the implications of the rules. "There have been questions about what some of the language means and how it's going to be interpreted, so we want to give time for some of those questions to be clarified before we offer training," he said. "We want to be sure we're giving out correct information to the industry." The association will identify experts on specific issues, such as on water testing and water management, to provide the training. While the FDA's training efforts will cover many different commodities, the WSTFA will target training to the tree fruit industry. A complication is that some grow- er-packers will be subject to the Produce Safety Rule, while others will fall under the Preventive Controls Rule. "That's why it's going to be a challenge for people in our industry," DeVaney said. "Everyone wants to do the right thing and be in compliance, but if you have multi- ple rules and multiple hundreds of pages, when growers have plenty of other things to be doing, figuring what they need to do to be in compliance is the biggest challenge." There will be more details on the Food Safety Modernization Act in coming issues of Good Fruit Grower. • Hort program highlights FOOD SAFETY "Everyone wants to do the right thing and be in compliance, but if you have multiple rules and multiple hundreds of pages, when growers have plenty of other things to be doing, figuring what they need to do to be in compliance is the biggest challenge." —Jon DeVaney SEAFOOD FOR THE SOIL SEAFOOD FOR THE SOIL I have been impressed by my cherry orchard's response to Paci c Gro's hydrolysate. Regular feeding of the product by foliar and fertigation during the season has pro- moted vigorous branch and root growth, increased fruit size a half to full row, made fruit signi cantly rmer and also helped trees recover from a devastating freeze this past winter. I have found that post-harvest feedings, which we apply up to leaf drop, are of critical importance to improving next year's crop. One surprising thing we have found that really excites us is that powdery mildew was signi cantly reduced in our orchards after we started using Pacific Gro's hydrolysate - even in highly susceptible varieties like Sweetheart. Mike Omeg, The Dalles, Oregon Liquid Shrimp & Crab - mmmm Good! The chitin and high sh oil content are a feast for the soil, especially for bene cial fungi. Also an excellent foliar. Screened to 200 mesh. CREATIVE AG PRODUC TS • w w w. p a c i f i c g ro. c o m • 503 867-4849