Food Protection Trends - November/December 2022 - 453

Figure 5. States where the tool and/or training was piloted. The commodities grown on the farms for each pilot are indicated by icons of
individual commodities and a farm stand for diversified produce farms (n = 7 pilots). States in purple are states where the OFRR tool was
piloted (Florida and North Carolina), states in green hosted a pilot of the training curriculum (New Jersey, Oregon, and Vermont), and states
with purple stripes hosted a pilot of the tool separate from a pilot testing the training curriculum (Michigan).
make up the finalized 2-day, 20-hour training curriculum
(Table 1). Each pilot training was followed with an OFRR
development team discussion about participant feedback
received. Discussions led to the improvement of the training
by updating the curriculum and streamlining the use of the
resources. For example, numerous questions and concerns
were raised around a single slide related to the subject of
egregious conditions, specifically what would be considered
a human health hazard and what actions should be taken if
one was observed. Through group discussions and multiple
evolutions, additional slides were added that included photos
of working farms. The photos serve as the basis of peer-topeer
learning about human health hazard risks on farms and
the question-asking skills required to determine the activities
and resulting risks. Postpilot development team discussions
also facilitated the standardization of these working farm
pictorial scenarios and the conversion of an on-farm etiquette
presentation into a think-pair-share learning activity.
Upon completion of the pilot training program, OFRR assessor
trainings were held regionally (Fig. 6) across the nation collaboratively
between the NASDA and state departments of agriculture
in the host training state. FDA Cooperative Agreement Program
funds were used by states to pay for participant travel expenses.
Regulators, educators, and other state staff from multiple states
attended. Extension educators from the OFRR development
team led the training. An eight-question anonymous post-training
survey was developed to gather feedback from participants
about their role in the agricultural industry, the effectiveness
of the training, and their likelihood of using the OFRR tool.
Post-training feedback was reviewed annually during OFRR
development team meetings to determine whether additional
changes to the training curriculum were needed. This survey,
Institutional Review Board number Pro2018000502, has been
approved for exemption by the Rutgers Office of Research and
Regulatory Affairs Institutional Review Board.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
At the outset, the OFRR development team understood a
multidisciplinary approach was essential to success. Federal
regulatory partners knew the PSR language. Extension
partners understood how growers thought. State department
of agriculture partners could offer evaluation criteria. Each
partner was essential to providing critical information necessary
for success. Furthermore, by working together, the group
became self-norming, creating a consistent understanding
and interpretation of the PSR and its application.
November/December Food Protection Trends 453

Food Protection Trends - November/December 2022

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