Agricultural Fresh Products Safety Experts from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (@US_FDA) of the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) and an expert in US cooperative extension. UU., In coordination with @IICA, @ACHIPIA, and the FDA Regional Office for Latin America, conducted a training activity for Review Reviewers of the State of Preparation of the Huerta-International (I-OFRR, for their acronym in English) from January 13 to 16, 2020.

Extension agents and professionals from the @ACHIPIA, @INDAP, and @SAG agencies in the Chilean Ministry of Agriculture were trained in the use of this new voluntary tool to support Chilean farmers exporting fresh agricultural products to the US. This activity was carried out at the Raihuén Research Center, of the National Institute of Agricultural Research (INIA) located in Villa Alegre, Linares. The course included classroom training as well as practical training exercises in berry gardens in Linares, Chile.

The objective of this course is to create a team of OFRR-I reviewers in Chile and Latin America that can offer the OFRR-I tool to interested parties, and share the OFRR-I tool internationally to help local farmers exporting to I know. UU. to assess their level of preparation and compliance with the regulations of Fresh Agricultural Products (PSR). The Standard for the Safety of Fresh Agricultural Products implements the provisions of the Law on Modernization for Food Safety or FSMA, which requires the FDA to establish minimum standards based on science for cultivation, harvesting, packaging and the storage of fresh agricultural products in an innocuous way. Establishes mandatory minimum standards for workers' health and hygiene; biological soil improvers (compost / manure); equipment, tools and facilities; and domesticated and wild animals.

This training program also offers an opportunity to @US_FDA to learn from local government and industry experts about local operations and methods, as well as challenges that local industry may be facing for compliance with PSR or other Food safety areas.

This was the second offer of the International-OFRR program for Training of Reviewers in Latin America (the first one was held in Costa Rica in May 2019).

Additional information on the OFRR-International tool of the @US_FDA

The International-OFRR tool from @US_ FDA is a voluntary and educational opportunity for farmers to assess how well they are prepared to meet the requirements of the US Standard for the Safety of Fresh Agricultural Products (PSR). The PSR is one of the seven fundamental rules under the Law of Modernization for Food Safety (FSMA). The Review of the State of Preparation of the Garden-International (OFRR-I) promotes compliance with the PSR, provides learning experiences in the garden, promotes coordination among producers of fresh agricultural products, identifies gaps in knowledge and helps orchards to better prepare for routine inspections by the @US_FDA.