Making Farmers Markets Safer (Research)

Training for farmers market vendors helps to improve food safety practices

Image credit: Bigstock

Problem

What can be done to help improve food safety at the more than 84,000 farmers markets in the nation?

Since 2008, seven major foodborne illness outbreaks and two recalls have occurred with food products from farmers markets.
As farmers markets have increased in size and complexity in the kinds of foods sold, so have food safety risks.

Findings

Researchers assessed samples of leafy green produce and meat sold at farmers markets in Pennsylvania and found microbiological hazards such as Listeria and E. coli.

Impact

Researchers created an app for smartphones to be used in place of traditional clipboards to improve the quality of data collection related to food safety observations. They also developed a curriculum for Penn State Extension to train farmers market vendors in food safety. A reduction of just 1 percent in the 1,280 cases per year of foodborne illness in Pennsylvania could bring about $20,000 in health care cost savings yearly.

Research Credit

Team

Catherine Cutter, Rama Radhakrishna, and Jonathan Campbell

Participating Departments

Federal and State Appropriations

USDA NIFA Hatch Multistate Project PEN04666, Accession #1017568

Emerging Discoveries

Farmers market vendors need training to improve food-safety practices

November 01, 2018

Many vendors at farmers markets take inadequate precautions to prevent the spread of foodborne illness, and they should be trained to reduce food-safety risks, according to Penn State researchers who completed the final phase of an innovative five-year study.

Food safety from farm to fork: Resources for farmers markets vendors

May 11, 2022

As farmers markets kick off this season, vendors and producers may benefit from Penn State Extension educational materials on controlling food safety risks from farm to fork — including a resource guide and an online course.

Researchers devise, test food-safety training program for farmers market vendors

January 23, 2023

Responding to a need revealed in their earlier studies, a team of Penn State researchers developed and pilot-tested a customized food safety training program for farmer’s market vendors.