New extension poultry specialist to help producers navigate food safety risks, regulations

By Sarah Cato
U of A System Division of Agriculture

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – After a successful career in the poultry industry, Bill Potter has joined the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture hoping to give back to the industry and the university that means so much to him.

GIVING BACK – Bill Potter is excited to join the Division of Agriculture as faculty and give back to the industry and university that means so much to him. (Division of Agriculture photo.)

Potter joined the Division of Agriculture Sept. 3 as associate professor and Poultry Federation chair of food safety and processing extension, based in Fayetteville. Potter, who received his Master of Science and Ph.D. in poultry science from the University of Arkansas and has worked extensively with extension specialists through his career, said he was excited to join the Division of Agriculture as faculty.

“The poultry industry has provided me so many great opportunities, and I wanted to take this next phase of my career as a chance to return the favor,” Potter said.

“We are very excited to have Dr. Potter join the faculty in Poultry Science,” said David Caldwell, director for the Center of Excellence for Poultry Science for the Division of Agriculture. "He brings three decades of very relevant industry experience to our program, and that increases our reach and relevance with our commercial stakeholders. We are already seeing the benefits of his programming and outreach with industry partners.”

During his career, Potter has worked in poultry food safety, quality assurance and research and development for several industry leaders, including Conagra, Advance Foods, George’s Inc. and Elanco Animal Health. His extensive experience has made Potter familiar with the increasing food safety risks producers face.

“In this role, I’m hoping to collaborate with our poultry science department and industry to help reduce food safety risks such as Salmonella, Campylobacter and foreign material. Also, I am looking forward to helping processing plants optimize their operations,” Potter said. “From a research standpoint, I hope to help develop innovative biotechnologies and systems to help the poultry industry meet food safety and processing objectives.”

In addition to his research and extension duties, Potter plans to use his teaching assignment as a chance to “add some real-world practical knowledge to help mentor both younger students and develop industry professionals.”

Potter can be contacted directly at bdpotter@uada.edu or bdpotter@uark.edu or 479-575-2211.

To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.edu. Follow on Twitter at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on Twitter at @AgInArk. To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu.

Silent Spoiler: Listeria outbreak raises food safety concerns

By Jenifer Fouch
University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture
Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — From deli counters to dinner tables, food safety relies on careful research and strict sanitation. As a multistate Listeria monocytogenes outbreak linked to deli meats raises concerns, researchers continue to work behind the scenes to ensure food safety standards.

Food safety scientists like Jennifer Acuff at the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station are dedicated to improving fresh and processed food safety and protecting food products from microbial contamination. Some of her work involves understanding how pathogens like listeria survive and spread — including in ready-to-eat foods.

LUNCH IS SERVED — As a multistate Listeria monocytogenes outbreak linked to deli meats raises concerns, researchers continue to work behind the scenes to ensure food safety standards. (U of A System Division of Agriculture photo by Nick Kordsmeier)

“One of the things that my research program focuses on is trying to control environmental conditions so that pathogens are not welcomed guests into that environment,” Acuff said.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service is investigating a multistate outbreak of infections linked to Boar's Head brand meats. So far, 7 million pounds of products have been recalled. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported nine deaths and 57 hospitalizations from 18 states.

“Whenever we see Listeria monocytogenes outbreaks, we see high hospitalization rates and alarmingly high mortality rates. And that’s because listeria has this incredible ability to cause an invasive infection,” Acuff said.

Acuff said listeria is unique because it’s what scientists call a psychrotroph, meaning it can survive and grow at cold temperatures, unlike other foodborne pathogens such as Salmonella and E. coli.

This characteristic makes ready-to-eat foods like deli meats particularly vulnerable since they can remain in cold storage for extended periods. And listeria and other pathogenic bacteria, Acuff says, is particularly dangerous because it doesn’t visibly spoil food, unlike molds.

“We can’t see them on our food. There’s never an indicator to us that the food is spoiled by a pathogen,” she said. “Doing the sniff test or looking at it to see if it looks okay doesn’t tell you if listeria is there.”

SCIENCE BEHIND SAFE FOOD — Food safety scientist Jennifer Acuff is a Cooperative Extension Specialist and also a member of the Center for Food Safety, which is part of the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, the research arm of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. (U of A System Division of Agriculture photo by Fred Miller)

Acuff is a Cooperative Extension Specialist and also a member of the Center for Food Safety, which conducts research and develops technologies to detect, control and reduce foodborne pathogens, toxins, and chemicals, enhancing food safety from production to consumption. The center is part of the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, the research arm of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.

“These appointments give me really good opportunities to integrate the research findings we’re looking into with what is actually applicable to our stakeholders in Arkansas — producers, consumers and scientists alike,” she said.

Where does listeria come from?

Listeria is a ubiquitous bacterium, meaning it’s naturally present in the environment, Acuff said, and that contamination often signals a sanitation problem in food processing.

“When we see listeria associated with a ready-to-eat food product, it automatically sends up red flags because we don’t want to see it in the processing plant,” she said. “It is so easy to accidentally track it in, whether through workers’ boots or clothing, leaks in the environment, or even pests.”

The FSIS reported several noncompliance violations at a Boar’s Head plant in Virginia, including the visible presence of mold, trash and insects.

Mitigating risks

According to the CDC, symptoms of listeriosis, the illness caused by Listeria monocytogenes, can take up to 10 weeks to appear, making it difficult to promptly trace the infection’s source. Many people who are immunocompetent recover without medical care, so the actual number of cases is likely higher than reported. Immunocompromised individuals, such as pregnant people and those taking immunosuppressant drugs, are at particular risk, though.

Acuff said consumers can take steps to reduce their risk of listeria exposure. If you have any of the recalled products at home, throw them away immediately. It is also a good idea to clean any surface area the product might have encountered.

For general consumption, one effective prevention method is to heat deli meats to 165 degrees Fahrenheit, reducing the risk of listeria infections. Acuff also encourages consumers to be proactive about food safety when dining out, especially during an ongoing outbreak.

“People should feel empowered to ask a restaurant where their deli meat comes from. It’s okay to ask for more information,” she said.While it’s impossible to produce food in a sterile environment, Acuff says it’s important to maintain strict sanitation standards to minimize risks.

“We don’t get to eat no-risk food,” she said. “So, being informed and knowing, ‘Am I willing to take this risk?’ is crucial.”

To learn more about the Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website. Follow us on X at @ArkAgResearch, subscribe to the Food, Farms and Forests podcast and sign up for our monthly newsletter, the Arkansas Agricultural Research Report. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit uada.edu. Follow us on X at @AgInArk. To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit uaex.uada.edu.

Food safety scientists crank up steam, radio waves to kill salmonella amid spice recall

By Maddie Johnson
University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture
Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Bacteria can easily hibernate in low-moisture ingredients such as flour and spices, and food scientists have been working on ways to make them safer with novel technologies.

SPICE SAFETY — Surabhi Wason, Ph.D., used a combination of radiofrequency and steam to sanitize spices in packages while a doctoral student in the food science department. (U of A System Division of Agriculture photo)

Publication of a food safety study on radiofrequency pasteurization and novel steam technology highlights the recent national recall of black pepper for salmonella risk. The June 3 recall brought low-moisture foods to the forefront of public discussion, showing just because bacteria can’t grow well in dry foods doesn’t mean they don’t pose a threat.

Surabhi Wason was the lead author of the study titled “Radiofrequency inactivation of salmonella in black pepper and dried basil leaves using in-package steaming,” which was published in the Journal of Food Protection. She conducted experiments to develop in-package steaming for enhancing the efficiency of radiofrequency pasteurization of spices and evaluate its impact on the spice quality.

“Radiofrequency, also referred to as macrowave, is a long wavelength, non-ionizing electrical form of energy,” Wason said. “The significant application for radiofrequency technology is in the treatment of dry ingredients where microbes are considered dormant and are in the most difficult state to kill.”

Wason explained that the radiofrequency, or RF, generator creates an alternating electric field between two electrodes, causing the polar water molecules in the material to generate friction, which causes the material to heat rapidly and uniformly.

Wason is a former doctoral student of Jeyam Subbiah, head of the food science department, who served as corresponding author for the study. The food science department is encompassed both by the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, the research arm of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, as well as the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences.

Rossana Villa Rojas, assistant professor of practice in the food science and technology department at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, was a co-author of the study showing that radiofrequency pasteurization and novel steam technology can inactivate salmonella in low-moisture foods, including spices, without significantly compromising quality.

The findings were based on work supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, under award number 2020-67017-33256. McCormick & Company, Inc. supplied low-moisture food materials for the study.

How it works

When a salmonella is identified on a product quality testing, or during a foodborne illness outbreak, the industry has to recall all products since the last cleaning of the plant, Subbiah explained.

“Food processing plants that process low-moisture foods clean less frequently, often once a year, because water in the plant can increase food safety risks,” Subbiah said. “That means the industry has to recall several days to months of production, which could potentially mean that everything on the shelf, and thousands of other products that used that as an ingredient, have to recall, and it’s a huge financial loss. People don’t realize the magnitude of food safety.”

Under traditional methods, low-moisture foods must be exposed to high temperatures for long periods to kill bacteria. Salmonella and other pathogens like listeria can adapt to harsh environments and stay hidden for years, requiring severe processing to be killed, Subbiah said. Without inactivation, the pathogens can begin growing when met with ideal conditions, like the interaction with water that occurs when spices are used in soup.

Baby formula is another low-moisture food that can become dangerous when rehydrated. Subbiah said Cronobacter sakazakii contamination in baby formula can lead to severe illness and death for babies.

With traditional methods, severe heat treatment diminishes aspects of the food quality such as nutrient content and may damage the package because of the generation of steam, Subbiah said. Scientists can also pasteurize these foods through irradiation, or radiation exposure, but consumer acceptance is low, he added.

Subbiah found himself wondering whether the kind of packaging technology that is widely used for foods like microwavable vegetables could be adapted to allow for the same quick heating of dry foods with the additional step of resealing needed before their sale. To prevent steam buildup from eventually bursting packaging, experts developed a one-way valve that releases the steam and then reseals, which is at the heart of Subbiah’s study.

This new valve technology mimics the in-package sterilization of canned goods and uses radiofrequency heating. Conventional heating methods transfer heat to a product through its surface and take longer to reach the center, but radiofrequency heating generates heat inside an entire product mass evenly through friction generated by the vibrating water molecules in an electric field, much like microwave technology. This way, products are pasteurized while they are already in their final packaging and are heated uniformly, avoiding the risk of overheating the edges before heat reaches the center. This in-package processing cuts the risk of contamination that can occur when products are moved between the pasteurization and packaging stages, and foods are safe from contamination until customers open them.

“The gold standard is to package it in the final form and kill the bacteria, like canning,” Subbiah said.

“This technology shows promise for extending to other products like flour, cereal grains offering a robust solution for diverse food sectors," Wason added. "Moreover, one of the key advantages of radiofrequency pasteurization lies in its continuous processing capability. By implementing a conveyor belt system, products can move seamlessly through the RF chamber, ensuring consistent and efficient pasteurization.”

Sticky situation

Subbiah was first inclined to explore this topic of low-moisture food safety after witnessing the costs of a 2007 peanut butter recall.

QUALITY AND SAFETY — Jeyam Subbiah, head of the food science department, conducts research through the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station to improve food quality and retain safety. (U of A System photo)

Recalls for products such as packaged meat require consumers to avoid products processed on a specific day. With dry foods such as peanut butter, though, sanitation of production facilities may happen just once a year, or every few years, to avoid exposing the product to water. This means that in cases of recall, a years’ worth of product, and any other foods that feature it as an ingredient, might pose a health risk for consumers and a financial loss for producers.

The company ended up recalling all peanut butter produced as far back as January 2004, an expected loss of $50-60 million.

In addition to his work with the experiment station, Subbiah also collaborates with the Center for Low-Moisture Food Safety based out of Michigan State University, which includes a stakeholder advisory group of industry professionals that take work like Subbiah’s from the publication to real-world application phase.

To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.edu. Follow on Twitter at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on Twitter at @AgInArk. To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu.

Extension to offer two-day remote produce safety training May 29-30

PRODUCE SAFETY — For fruit and vegetable growers, ensuring their farms are free of microbial contamination and reducing the risk of foodborne illness is key to the success of their operation. The Cooperative Extension Service will offer a two-day remote training with information about best practices, worker health and hygiene, and more. (Division of Agriculture graphic.) 

By Rebekah Hall
U of A System Division of Agriculture

LITTLE ROCK — To help Arkansas fruit and vegetable growers across the state learn practices to reduce the risk of foodborne illness, the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture will offer a remote, two-day produce safety training workshop via Zoom from May 29-30.

The training will provide attendees with important information on best practices, worker health, hygiene and training, soil amendments and more.

Registration is $25 per person for Arkansas residents and $100 per person for out-of-state residents. The deadline to register is May 22, and there are 20 seats available in the training. Participants must have access to Zoom software, a web camera, microphone and stable internet access. Register at uaex.uada.edu/producesafety.

Rip Weaver, extension program technician for local, regional and safe foods for the Division of Agriculture, said his team looks forward to hosting the remote training.

“We know this is a busy time for Arkansas growers,” Weaver said. “We hope that by splitting the training into two half-days, attendees will still have a good portion of their days to tend to their responsibilities on their farms and food businesses.”

Participant attendance and engagement will be monitored during the training. Participants are only eligible for PSA/AFDO Certificate of Course Completion if they are present for all modules of the course.

“This program is targeted to commercial produce growers, but small or beginning farms can learn valuable information for building their operations,” said Amanda Philyaw Perez, extension associate professor of food systems and food safety specialist for the Division of Agriculture. “Farmers who have previously attended this training should plan to attend a training about every three years to stay up to date on the latest regulatory information.”

The training, developed by the Produce Safety Alliance and presented by the Cooperative Extension Service’s Arkansas Produce Safety Team, teaches growers about regulatory requirements of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Produce Safety Rule. FSMA is the first federally regulated standard for growing, harvesting, packing, and holding fresh produce.

For more information, contact Rip Weaver at rweaver@uada.edu or 501-671-2388.

To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on X and Instagram at @AR_Extension. To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.edu. Follow on X at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on X at @AgInArk. 

Arkansas food safety expert tackles produce packing with new grant

By Nick Kordsmeier
U of A System Division of Agriculture

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Federal regulations say growers and packers must keep their produce packing areas clean and sanitary but don’t offer specific guidelines on how to do it. That’s where Arkansas food science professor Kristen Gibson comes in.

FOOD SAFETY — Kristen Gibson, associate professor of food safety and microbiology, is working on a new project to improve sanitation in produce packinghouses. (U of A System Division of Agriculture)

The Center for Produce Safety has awarded Gibson a $206,108 grant to develop new food safety guidance for producer growers.

The industry-supported nonprofit selected Gibson, director of the Arkansas Center for Food Safety and researcher for the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, to identify and address potential gaps in sanitation protocols within produce packinghouses, where recently harvested fruits and vegetables are handled and packed for distribution. The experiment station is the research arm of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.

Gibson said the research seeks to provide produce growers with best practices for cleaning and sanitizing surfaces in packinghouses.

“A lot of times, we assume that things are safe to eat,” Gibson said. “For consumers, you want to be sure that your growers are using the best practices available based on science.”

The three-year grant will focus on porous food-contact surfaces typical of produce packinghouses, like unfinished wood and vinyl fabric.

“In the produce industry, people are very innovative, and they like to use different surfaces to protect the quality of their produce,” Gibson said.

Recognizing that produce growers use a wide variety of surfaces throughout the process of packing produce, Gibson said the research will validate cleaning and sanitation processes for common, hard-to-clean, porous food-contact surfaces and develop best practices.

A new era for produce food safety

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Produce Safety Rule became effective in 2016, establishing “for the first time, regulatory requirements for on-farm growing, harvesting, packing, and holding of produce.”

Gibson said that cleaning and sanitizing are major components of the rule, with specific recordkeeping requirements. However, the rule lacks specific protocols that growers must follow.

“There’s not a ton of guidance on cleaning and sanitizing,” she said. “It tells you the steps: you have to clean to get the dirt off the surface, and then you have to rinse, and then you have to sanitize. But it doesn’t tell you how exactly to do that. As a grower, you have to develop your own sanitation protocols, and this can be really hard for some growers.”

This is particularly true for produce packinghouses, where there is a need for more guidance on cleaning and sanitizing porous food-contact surfaces, she added.

“Produce packinghouses can be lots of different things,” Gibson said. “It can be a totally enclosed structure with brick and mortar and very environmentally controlled. And it can be a shed where you have an awning and some tables outside.”

Gibson said the potential food safety risk of porous surfaces in these facilities stems from the difficulty of drying them.

“Most microorganisms thrive in higher moisture environments compared to low moisture environments,” Gibson said. “In addition, these surfaces can be difficult to adequately clean and sanitize due to both the porous nature and the potential adverse effects some sanitizers may have on the materials.

“With all of that said, the actual risk associated with porous surfaces is unknown. For example, although microorganisms may thrive on these surfaces, they may also become trapped and thus not able to transfer to the produce via cross-contamination,” she said.

Finding answers

Gibson’s research team will conduct two phases of research to address these questions. First, they will interview small to medium-sized growers from around the country to understand how different surfaces are used in the industry.

“Using this approach enables us to have more in-depth discussions with those industry members we are trying to serve,” Gibson said. “We let the overall results of these interviews drive the direction of the research.”

Next, using information gathered during the first phase, the team will evaluate the ability of microorganisms to survive and grow on the most common porous food-contact surfaces subjected to different conditions relevant to produce packinghouses. The goal, Gibson said, is to provide data-backed information to produce growers to help them validate their food safety practices.

“This work will correct deficiencies and improve the performance of cleaning and sanitation practices which will be broadly adaptable,” she said. “This work will build a foundation for further exploration of microbial risks associated with specific packing practices.”

To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.edu. Follow on Twitter at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on Twitter at @AgInArk. To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu.

How to keep your food safe during a power outage

By John Lovett
University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture
Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Food safety is on the minds of many Arkansans this week, with over 72,000 customers losing power during the icy weather.

FOOD SAFETY — Frozen food stored in a freezer after a power outage may remain safe from developing food-borne pathogens for up to 48 hours. (U of A System Division of Ag photo by John Lovett)

The food safety clock is ticking on their food in fridges and freezers. For many, it may already be too late to save. Perishable foods with temperatures above 40 degrees or below 140 degrees are in what food scientists call the “danger zone,” where pathogens like Listeria and Staphylococcus multiply rapidly.

There were more than 52,000 customers still without power in Arkansas Friday morning, according to PowerOutage.us, with most of those being in Jefferson County. Entergy, a primary provider in Arkansas, showed no electrical power with 33,321 customers at noon Friday. Brandi Hinkle, an Entergy spokesperson, said 2,800 crew members were working to restore power and they expected most of their customers to be reconnected by 10 p.m. Friday.

“There are serious consequences to your health if you eat contaminated food,” said Philip Crandall, professor of retail food safety for the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station. “Follow the precautionary principle. When in doubt, throw it out.”

Food should not be tasted to determine its safety, he added.

Listeria monocytogenes has a mortality rate of 16 percent, and Staphylococcus aureus produces a toxin that typical cooking temperatures do not destroy, Crandall said.

“Once staph grows and produces its toxin in food, you could boil it for 30 minutes and still get sick if you eat it,” Crandall said.

Crandall said Listeria monocytogenes could grow to an infective dose at refrigerated temperatures, albeit slowly, and is particularly deadly to very young children and senior citizens.

After the power is out, most refrigerators will keep food safe for up to four hours. If the door remains closed, foods in a full freezer will stay safe for up to 48 hours or 24 hours in a half-full freezer after losing power. According to this Arkansas Emergency Preparedness Resources website, transferring perishable foods from the fridge to the freezer is one option to keep them below 40 degrees longer.

Dry ice or block ice may also be used to keep temps down in a freezer. Fifty pounds of dry ice should hold an 18-cubic-foot freezer for two days. Remember, do not touch dry ice with bare hands or place it in direct contact with food.

Crandall recommends monitoring temps with an appliance thermometer placed inside the freezer or fridge.

An ice chest may also keep foods safe if there are enough ice or gel packs to keep the food at or below 40 degrees.

Crandall said that being prepared to save the food before it becomes a food safety issue is the best course of action. Having a source of back-up power to operate freezers and fridges is optimal. If the temperature outside is below freezing, it may also be stored outside in a location protected from pests until power is restored.

Download the fact sheet Planning for Food After a Disaster for additional information on food handling.

Crandall is also part of the Center for Food Safety at the experiment station, the research arm of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. The Center for Food Safety's mission is to discover practical, evidence-based solutions to food safety issues within Arkansas and beyond through research, innovation and collaboration between the public and private sectors.

For more information on food health safety, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent. The extension service’s health specialist is Bryan Madder, and the nutrition specialists are Josh Phelps and Christine Sasse.

FoodSafety.gov also offers a guide to evaluate what foods may be kept or thrown out after a power outage.

To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.edu. Follow on Twitter at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on Twitter at @AgInArk. To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu.

Researchers receive $550,000 USDA-NIFA grant to develop farmers market food safety game

By Brittaney Mann
U of A System Division of Agriculture

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Food safety education for small producers will take on an interactive gaming form with the help of a collaborative $550,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

FOOD SAFETY GAME — Kristen Gibson is serving as the lead investigator on a new $550,000 grant from USDA-NIFA. Gibson and her collaborators will evaluate current food safety training practices and develop a multimedia game to help teach farmers market vendors food safety best practices.

Kristen Gibson, department of food science professor of food safety for the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station and director of the Center for Food Safety, will serve as lead investigator on this grant, aimed at providing easy-to-access educational resources about safe food production directed at small- and medium-sized farmers getting started with their market endeavors.

Citing research that indicates interactive multimedia learning tools can help audiences understand concepts better than traditional education practices can, Gibson said the research team decided a multimedia game format may help producers retain the information better. The multi-institution project is titled “GLEAN (game learning to educate and advance knowledge): Transformative food safety training for farmers market vendors.”

“We want to be sure that they’re providing safe food to their customers,” Gibson said. “And so, in order to implement best practices related to the production and the handling of fresh produce, you have to have that knowledge base to understand why that is important.”

The Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station is the research arm of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.

Farmers markets and food safety

Farmers market vendors do not sell a large volume of produce, and therefore are not covered by the Food and Drug Administration Food Safety Modernization Act, Gibson said. Food safety requirements may vary in each market, even within the same state, because farmers market managers can set their own regulations.

Farmers market vendors have varying levels of food safety knowledge and training, Gibson said. Additionally, farmers market managers may not have access to farmers market specific training that can be distributed to the local producers.

The Arkansas Department of Health does not require farmers markets vendors to obtain permits to sell uncut fruit and vegetables or temperature-stable cottage foods.

The researchers want to be sure that everyone has access to resources to aid in the adoption of food safety best practices, and to make it easier to receive them.

“The idea is to be sure you’re capturing those people who may be falling through the cracks,” Gibson said.

The game

The development of this food safety training game will take place over three years. The researchers will collect data from a sample of local food producers to understand what information is most relevant, assess the effectiveness of the game in knowledge retention and eventually release it to the public.

Vendors can find multiple answers to their questions on different media, like Google searches or YouTube, and by directing the necessary information into a game format, it may help growers feel confident in the validity of the information they consume, Gibson said.

The researchers want the game to be realistic to the growers’ specific situations so that food safety awareness can transfer into their practices. The game will include different risks and related regulations, allow the producers to get help from in-game organizations that mirror real-life support structures and allow them to understand the varying rules of different markets, Gibson said. The strategies will also center on how to gain entry to local and regional food systems.

Collaboration

Jennifer Acuff, assistant professor of food safety and microbiology at the experiment station, will also participate in the project.

“I am very excited to work on the GLEAN project,” Acuff said. “With farmers markets continuing to grow in size and types of products sold, we want to make sure all the vendors are provided with as much knowledge as possible about relevant regulations and are empowered to employ best practices to prioritize the safety of their consumers.”

Acuff’s research focuses on reducing pathogens from foods at the post-harvest level through prevention and intervention. She received a $200,000 grant earlier this year from USDA-NIFA to investigate moisture levels that lead to bacterial survival in low-moisture foods.

“We will be collaborating with colleagues from around the nation to address local and regional knowledge gaps by employing creative learning tools, such as educational gaming,” Acuff said.

That nationwide team of researchers includes Barbara Chamberlin, Matheus Cezarotto and Pamela Martinez from New Mexico State University, and Sujata Sirsat from the University of Houston. New Mexico State University will develop the game through its Learning Games Lab, which has developed many educational games.

Gibson has received many grants that feed into her work on food safety knowledge. Many of her projects aim to characterize food safety risks for small producers. Earlier this year, she characterized the pathogen vulnerability of two popular microgreen varieties and their growing media.

She was also recently awarded a $27,739 grant from the Center for Produce Safety to evaluate current food safety knowledge for indoor leafy green production, with the goal of presenting evidence-based best practices and identifying knowledge gaps on microbial risks.

Gibson is excited to use a game approach to relay food safety information. She hopes to see an increase in confidence, knowledge and the implementation of best practices outside the game.

“To do the practice, you have to have the knowledge first,” Gibson said.

To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.edu. Follow us on Twitter at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on Twitter at @AgInArk. To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu.