UVM Extension Northeast Center to Advance Food Safety (NECAFS) hosted its sixth annual conference and meeting, virtually, from January 18 to 20, 2022.
With over 200 attendees, the NECAFS annual meeting provided an opportunity for regional partners to connect and discuss current research, training, education and outreach trends and activities related to the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Produce Safety Rule, and the Preventive Controls for Human Food Rule. The meeting focused on facilitated discussion and breakout groups sessions, where everyone had an opportunity to share, identify common challenges, and articulate next steps to address those challenges through collaborative action. All annual meeting outputs are posted on the NECAFS website. NECAFS is led by Director Chris Callahan; Assistant Director Elizabeth Newbold; Research Specialist Annie Fitzgerald; and Research Specialist Sean Fogarty.
NECAFS is one of four USDA funded regional centers tasked with coordinating training, education and outreach related to the Food Safety Modernization Acts (FSMA) Produce Safety Rule and Preventive Controls for Human Foods Rule. NECAFS’s work supports a national food safety training, education, Extension, outreach, and technical assistance system among small and medium-sized producers and small processors.
NECAFS serves 12 Northeast states and the District of Columbia, and is a collaboration that brings together individuals, including Extension educators and state and federal regulatory partners, working in food safety across the region with the goal to work together to address the needs of the regions producers and processors.