Thank you,

Christie

Writer: Martha Filipic filipic.3@cfaes.osu.edu 614-292-9833

Source: Janet Buffer, Human Nutrition jbuffer@ehe.osu.edu 614-247-8388

Lydia Medeiros, Human Nutrition lmedeiros@ehe.osu.edu 614-292-2699

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohioans now can get [...]]]> Thought I would pass this link along as it can be a great resource to help with educating consumers on food safety.  Please check it out http://foodsafety.osu.edu and link to your website if you feel it would assist your consumers.

Thank you,

Christie

Writer:
Martha Filipic
filipic.3@cfaes.osu.edu
614-292-9833

Source:
Janet Buffer, Human Nutrition
jbuffer@ehe.osu.edu
614-247-8388

Lydia Medeiros, Human Nutrition
lmedeiros@ehe.osu.edu
614-292-2699

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohioans now can get the food safety information they need thanks to a new Ohio State University food safety website.

The website, http://foodsafety.osu.edu, offers consumers, health professionals and people who are at high risk of food-borne illness easy-to-understand, “plain talk” information that they can incorporate easily in their day-to-day life, said Lydia Medeiros, food safety specialist with Ohio State University Extension and one of the leaders in developing the site.

“We focused on information that helps people build skills,” said Medeiros, who is also a scientist with the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center and professor of human nutrition in the College of Education and Human Ecology. “Knowledge is good, but having the proper skills is the necessary factor that people need to implement their knowledge.”

The site contains numerous photos to illustrate food safety concepts for consumers in the “Ask Mom” area of the site, Medeiros said, including how to properly wash hands, test meat with a food thermometer, and prevent cross-contamination in the kitchen. The area for health professionals, “Ask the Doc,” provides food safety fact sheets that can be downloaded and shared with patients or clients who have been diagnosed with cancer or HIV/AIDS, who have had an organ transplant, who are pregnant or who have chronic conditions that make them more vulnerable to food-borne disease. In the “Ask the Teacher” portion of the site, educators have access to a PowerPoint presentation they can download to teach food safety concepts.

More materials will be added to the site, Medeiros said. “This is a dynamic website that will get deeper and broader as we add information to it,” she said.

In addition, the site offers users a way to ask Ohio State’s food safety professionals questions they can’t find answers to, by e-mailing foodsafety@osu.edu or calling Ohio State’s Food Safety Information Line, housed at the university’s Food Industry Center, at 800-752-2751 (toll-free in Ohio), 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

The website and food safety e-mail and phone line are made possible by grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Integrated Food Safety Initiative; The Kroger Co., which also supports a broader food safety outreach program through its in-store educational campaign; and the Center for Innovative Food Technology, which helps support the Food Safety Information Line.

Christie Welch, Farmers’ Market Specialist
The Business Development Network
at The OSU South Centers
1864 Shyville Rd.
Piketon, OH 45661
welch.183@osu.edu
740-289-3727 Ext. 234
800-860-7232 (Ohio only) Ext. 234
740-289-4591 (Fax)
http://ohiofarmersmarkets.osu.edu

Here is a snippet of their press release:

Even as the USDA commends Farmer’s Markets in the week-long National Farmer’s Market Week, August 2 – 9, 2009, State and local health and agriculture departments are [...]]]> Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund has set up an Affiliate membership for Food Co-ops and Markets.  Here’s their website:  http://www.ftcldf.org/

Here is a snippet of their press release:

Even as the USDA commends Farmer’s Markets in the week-long National Farmer’s Market Week, August 2 – 9, 2009, State and local health and agriculture departments are making participation difficult and expensive by cracking down on participating farmers.

Some Farmer’s Markets have become a victim of their own success, as regulators swarm over these events and nit-pick the farmers for fees, licenses and permits.

“We are seeing farmers quit the markets because they are besieged with burdensome regulations and overlapping licensing requirements that make doing business at the farmer’s market too costly,” said Fund President Pete Kennedy, Esq.

The Fund seeks to support Farmer’s Markets and other direct-to-consumer food outlets with a new Affiliate Membership program that provides affordable, accessible legal guidance for these organizations.

“When Farmer’s Markets are open early in the morning or on the weekend, their Market Manager can call our Emergency Hotline to talk directly with legal counsel about a market problem” says Kennedy.

“When I joined the Fund I never thought I would ever need to call to the Emergency Hotline. In less than thirty seconds there was Pete Kennedy calling me back”, says Pam Lunn, owner of the Dancing Goat Dairy in Tampa, Florida. Pam had been ordered to stop selling milk by a misinformed inspector at the Saturday Market. “The money I spent on joining was the best money I have ever spent in a lifetime!”
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“As our name suggests, the Fund was originally created to support the Farmer and the Consumer.  Now, we feel it’s essential to support the “to” in our name, the non-profit groups and local food entrepreneurs who are recreating the way that America shops for food,” says Kennedy.

“Our Affiliate Membership Program is the next critical step in our mission to expand and encourage direct-to-consumer trade and ultimately provide our neighbors and communities with easy access to local, fresh and safe sustainably farmed products.”

Candidates for Affiliate Memberships include Farmer’s Markets, Community Supported Agriculture (CSAs), Cow or Goat-Share Programs, Private Buyers Clubs and Food Co-ops.

I know it’s a busy time of year for you, but I encourage you to take a few minutes to register and customize your free business profile on Ohio MarketMaker. Ohio MarketMaker is updating their database and [...]]]> Hope you all had a great Farmers’ Market Week.  There are so many good things happening all over the state.

I know it’s a busy time of year for you, but I encourage you to take a few minutes to register and customize your free business profile on Ohio MarketMaker.
Ohio MarketMaker is updating their database and you have an opportunity to be involved – for free.

Simple instructions and information on MarketMaker are in the flyer below.

Don’t be left out.  It’s simple and very worthwhile.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me or Julie Strawser, 740-289-2071, ext. 223; strawser.35@osu.edu

Download and View the Market Maker flyer (PDF)