The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) Produce Safety Program is partnering with the CDFA Office of Farm to Fork to provide Produce Safety Alliance (PSA) Grower Training Courses at no cost to California Farm to School Network produce growers and handlers. The free training also is open to all interested California produce growers and handlers.
The PSA Grower Training Course covers Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Produce Safety Rule requirements that set food safety standards for the production of fresh fruits, vegetables and tree nuts. It also covers good agricultural practices for the enhanced safety of fresh, nutritious and wholesome produce supplied to local schools and communities across the state.
Courses are July 22-23, 2025, and September 23-24, 2025, via Zoom with live instructors to provide statewide accessibility. Each registered course participant will receive a training manual and informational handouts. Upon course completion, participants are eligible to receive a Certificate of Course Completion from the Association of Food and Drug Officials. Completion of the PSA Grower Training Course fulfills the FSMA Produce Safety Rule requirement 21 CFR 112.22(c) that states “at least one supervisor or responsible party from your farm must have successfully completed food safety training equivalent to that received under a standardized curriculum recognized as adequate by the Food and Drug Administration.”
Additional course dates will be announced on an ongoing basis. To learn more and register for an upcoming course, please visit www.cdfa.ca.gov/producesafety/growertraining/.
CDFA’s California Farm to School Network endeavors to source school meals from regional farms and educate students about food to ensure California students have access to fresh, nutritious, locally sourced produce. This initiative is an interagency, multi-pronged effort to reimagine school meals while benefitting students, the environment, local farmers and local economies. CDFA’s Produce Safety Program (PSP) conducts on-farm inspections on behalf of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to verify FSMA Produce Safety Rule compliance. PSP’s “educate before and while we regulate” goal helps California produce growers and handlers understand enhanced produce safety practices.