The Fresh Produce Safety Centre have three upcoming skills workshops being held as a weekly online series every Thursday from 1pm – 2pm AEST. Ticketholders will receive an email on how to register for these workshops (once registered, zoom links are shared 24 hours prior). Non-ticketholders can purchase workshop tickets by emailing FPSC at events@fpsc-anz.com

WORKSHOP 1 – Embedding food safety culture to make systems more practical

When: Thursday 25 August, 1-2pm AEST
Speaker: Elizabeth Frankish, Food Safety Consultant & Clare Hamilton-Bate, Director & Lead Consultant, Mallsgate Pty Ltd

This workshop delves into the issue of food safety culture and how to build this culture within the business to continuously enhance food safety. Practical guidance is provided on what food businesses can do to identify, measure and improve the food safety culture in their business from two speakers with strong credentials in both research and business.

WORKSHOP 2 – Guidelines on Exclusion Periods: case studies and explanations

When: Thursday 1 September, 1-2pm AEST
Speaker: Deon Mahoney, Head of Food Safety, IFPA-ANZ & Belinda Hazell, Principal Consultant, Optimum Standard

Fresh Produce Safety Centre Technical Group members will discuss the recent changes to Section 6.2 Microbial Contamination, Exclusion Periods of the ‘Guidelines for Fresh Produce Food Safety (2019)’. They will address the research background behind the recommended changes to the exclusion periods between application of raw or untreated manure/grazing of animals and harvest.

WORKSHOP 3 – Interpreting and responding to Microbiological Test Results

When: Thursday 8 September, 1-2pm AEST
Speaker: Dr Sukhvinder Pal (SP) Singh, Institute Director, NSW Department of Primary Industries & Kashif Ahmed, National Microbiology Manager, Symbio Laboratories

This practical workshop will have you thinking more about microbiological test results – how to read and interpret them and what to do when the report is not what you were expecting. Dr Singh is an expert in understanding practical food safety from a business perspective and Kashif Ahmed will help explain the numbers.

This article appears as part of content associated with the 19 August issue of Guacamole.