Digital Training for Keeping Apples Safe in the Packinghouse

Online access to new training materials from Penn State Extension offer apple packinghouse operators a practical and efficient tool for delivering food safety education to employees. “Keeping Apples Safe in the Packinghouse” is designed to support a culture of food safety in commercial packing facilities. The training features 21 lessons with more than 90 minutes of video content, recorded in operating apple packinghouses, and a downloadable teaching guide with discussion questions.

Apple packinghouse operators can stream and use these videos — which are available in English and Spanish — alongside their company’s training materials. An internet connection is required to stream the videos.

The videos and guide address crucial food safety concepts such as microbial, chemical and physical hazards; contamination routes; personal hygiene; sanitation procedures; and recordkeeping. Organizers designed the content to be comprehensive and ready-to-use.

According to Luke LaBorde, Extension Specialist and Professor of food science in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, the course supports packinghouse managers in reducing risk and reinforcing food safety knowledge among workers.

“Training seasonal and full-time employees can be a challenge, especially when time and staffing are limited,” LaBorde says. “This curriculum provides consistent messaging and real-world visuals for team discussion.”

For more details about the “Keeping Apples Safe in the Packinghouse” training, visit extension.psu.edu.