The Produce Safety Alliance has announced its new website and calls on farmers, researchers, state officials, produce industry experts and others interested in produce safety to join one of 10 alliance working committees.

Committee members will help develop a national Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) education curriculum focused on understanding and implementing fresh fruit and vegetable food safety practices.

The alliance is a broad-based partnership charged with developing a national education and training program for farmers, packers and regulatory personnel of fresh produce in anticipation of a new produce safety rule from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (USDA). It is housed at Cornell's National Good Agricultural Practices Program and is funded by the USDA and the Food and Drug administration (FDA).

Each working committee, which will regularly meet by teleconference, will focus on a specific aspect of produce safety, ranging from production and postharvest handling issues related to risk assessment and preventive practices through food safety plan writing to certification-related activities.

"It is in our best interest to cast a wide net to encourage broad participation to obtain the best information, scientific knowledge and in-the-field experience available to inform these efforts," said Betsy Bihn, project director of the alliance and a senior extension associate in food science at Cornell. "The website is one key information and outreach vehicle, but it is our intention to use various communications channels to inform and engage all interested stakeholders."

Bihn said by collaborating with other experts in the field, "the alliance will review existing GAP educational and instructional materials, seek to identify and fill any areas where information is lacking and then develop and continuously update multiformatted education programs on food safety, as well as how to co-manage for food safety and environmental concerns."

The alliance is governed by an executive committee that includes members from Cornell, the Association of Food and Drug Officials, National Association of State Departments of Agriculture, FDA, USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service, and USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service. The executive committee seeks to ensure that educational outreach materials will be used in an effective and efficient manner.

"We encourage all those with expertise and knowledge in the produce food safety area to come forward and assist in these efforts as it will lay the foundation for the alliance's GAP Educational Materials Conference to be held in June in Orlando, Fla.," Bihn said. "During the conference, the alliance will review existing materials, determine where new or additional materials are needed, and begin developing those materials. We encourage participation in this process."

To join a working committee, download a membership form at http://producesafetyalliance.cornell.edu/working.html, call 315-787-2625 or write Bihn at 630 W. North St., Hedrick Hall-NYSAES, Geneva, NY 14456.