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Learning by doing at the Produce Handling Facility in Mills River, NC

Agricultural Issues

Elena Rogers
Area Specialized Agent, Food Safety- Fresh Produce
North Carolina State University
Lenoir

Abstract

In July 2021 the Produce Handling Educational Facility opened at the Mountain Horticultural Research and Extension Center (MHCREC) in Mills River, NC. This facility serves two purposes: 1) to grade and pack fruit for research teams and 2) to demonstrate food safety practices and technologies available in the produce industry. In 2016, the station research teams had identified a serious need to modernize fruit and vegetable sorting equipment. Existing equipment was antiquated, imprecise, incompatible with non-spherical fruit, and did not adhere to modern food safety standards. From a food safety stand point, these are common issues for many farms.  Produce farms are responsible to minimize risks of food borne illness by implementing good agricultural practices and good manufacturing practices in packing areas. This is often a complex arena for growers as it requires significant investment in areas where fruit is washed, sorted and packed. It also requires constant employee training and an understanding of post-harvest and food safety principles.  With this new facility, our team has been able to offer hands-on trainings for Agents and growers covering a variety of topics. These topics include cleaning and sanitation, equipment and technologies, fruit grading and sizing, pest management and water use during postharvest among others. A total of seven trainings have been offered, reaching 30 Agents and over 300 growers. These trainings no longer focus around PowerPoint presentations but rather on designing activities where participants can be actively engaged. During this presentation we plan to do a virtual tour of the Produce Handling Facility to highlight the different stations set up in the packing house and equipment we have acquired as a result of collaborations with industry partners.This facility is a reality as a result of the teamwork and collaboration between NCSU researchers at MHCREC, NCSU Administration, North Carolina Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services and NC Farm Bureau.

 

Authors: Sara Runkel, Elena Rogers, Karen Blaedow, Craig Mauney
  1. Sara Runkel Agriculture Agent, NC Cooperative Extension, Yancey Co., North Carolina, 28714
  2. Elena Rogers Area Specialized Agent, Food Safety- Fresh Produce, NC State Extension, North Carolina, 28645
  3. Karen Blaedow Extension Agent, Agriculture - Vegetable and Small Fruit , NC Cooperative Extension, Henderson Co., North Carolina, 28792
  4. Craig Mauney Area Specialized Agent, NC Cooperative Extension, North Carolina, 28759