Dante Galeazzi, President, and CEO of TIPA, said:

“Just as the papayas we consume were planted, watered and cared for overtime, now, witnessing the fruition of these training validates the hard work and many hours poured into the development and dedication of this platform to provide safer papaya for North American consumers. We are excited to announce Virtual Training Courses are now open for registration.”

Targeted for the growers and handlers of Mexican papayas, this training aims to bring the entire industry up to a higher base-line for food safety and minimize the potential of a future outbreak. The training and the training material will be in Spanish and hosted online for at least the first three months, due to the current pandemic and health & safety reasons. Current dates set for the online training are as follows: June 26, 29 & 30, and July 1, 2, 3, 6 & 7. These 8 classes are just the beginning and more classes will be offered as demand merits. Registration for each class closes 5 days before the class.

The cost is $100 per person ($97 for course costs, $3 for payment processing). Classes have a minimum of 15 people and a maximum of 25 people. Participants will receive a training manual/workbook and a certificate upon successful completion of the course. The course takes 8 hours and is 100% online but it is taught in a live-format with an instructor and 2 assistant instructors.

Registration link here: http://www.foodsafetycts.com/papaya

Source: Texas International Produce Association

The post Pilot Training on the Best Practices Guide for the Growing and Handling of Mexican Papaya a Success appeared first on North America FarmQuip Magazine.

Dante Galeazzi, president and CEO of TIPA said:

“This has been an industry-driven, government-supported endeavor since the first days of the project. Following the outbreak in summer 2019, the largest US handlers of Mexican-grown papayas realized they needed to come together to address the issue. We had several meetings and identified an opportunity that would be both impactful and achievable in a short period of time – improving protocols and practices for the growing and handling of papayas.”

Although the papaya industry in Mexico is and was adhering to common guidelines (ie. GAPs, SENASICA’s SRRC, FDA’s Produce Safety Rule, and third-party audits) additional, commodity-specific measures were desired, similar to the approaches taken by the tomato and leafy greens industries. The idea was to create a document that aligned the entire growing and packing industry of papayas in Mexico under the same food safety protocols. And once that document was created, it would be distributed, for FREE, to that same industry.

“We knew this project required expertise in the field of food safety. That’s why we reached out to Dr. Jennifer McEntire with the United Fresh Produce Association.”

shares Galeazzi.

“It’s encouraging and motivating to be part of such a collaborative effort. To see this large, diverse group- including FDA, USDA ARS, SENASICA, industry workgroups, other trade groups,  the academics – participate in so many meetings and with a sense of urgency- it really speaks to our collective commitment to address the supply chain’s concerns and provide support by creating this document. Now, we must maintain momentum, encouraging education, implementation, and verification. Moving forward, we’ll utilize forthcoming research to  improve this manual and the effectiveness of the best practices outlined herein.”

said Dr. McEntire.

On April 14^th, 2020, TIPA and UFPA hosted a final document review with sessions in English and Spanish. Participants included Mexican and US stakeholders, Mexican and US government officials, as well as Mexican and US university researchers.

Juan Carlos Martinez, CEO of Chula Brands. Lance Peterson of SuperStarr adds explained:

“As a grower, packer, importer and distributor of papayas from Mexico, I cannot begin to state the importance we felt as an industry in getting this document together and distributed quickly. We want consumers to have confidence in our products the way we do, and we felt creating a higher standard for our industry was a necessary action. I am pleased with this document and I look forward to working with the many incredible partnerships we’ve built over the course of this project, especially as we take the next steps.”

The next step for the project will be training seminars. Educational courses on the document will be conducted in Spanish and targeted at growers and packers of papayas in Mexico. Planning and development is already underway for the education portion, and training is tentatively scheduled to begin via live virtual instruction in the next 30 to 60 days.

For more information or to access the “Food Safety Best Practices Guide for the Growing & Handling of Mexican Papaya, First Edition,” visit the TIPA (www.texipa.org) or UFPA (www.unitedfresh.org) websites, or contact either organization.

Source: Texas International Produce Association 

The post Texas International Produce Association and United Fresh Produce Association announce New Best Practices about Mexican Papaya appeared first on North America FarmQuip Magazine.