Produce Safety Resources

The resources on this page are intended to advance your understanding of food safety for produce in child nutrition operations.  School Nutrition professionals with particular interest in this topic are encouraged to sign up through their State Agencies to attend Produce Safety University, a week-long immersion course offered by USDA.

Fresh produce provides many nutritional benefits, but it must be handled safely to reduce the risk of foodborne illness. Harmful bacteria residing in soil or water may come into contact with fresh produce at any point during the plant’s growth, harvest, processing, transportation, storage, preparation, or service.  Fresh produce that is served raw does not go through a cooking step to kill any harmful bacteria that may be present before it is served to students, and, therefore has the potential to cause a foodborne illness.

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• **12/04/2023 - Monday
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• **12/05/2023 - Tuesday
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• ***3.Making the Grade Best Practices for Co-Mingled Meal Service in School
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• *Documenting Last-Minute Substitutions to School Meal Menus
• *2022 Strategic Planning Documents
• *ICN's Leadership Academy - Proof
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• *Produce Safety
• **Produce Safety University Graduate Training Resources
• **The Produce Lab Videos - Culinary Techniques
• **The Produce Lab Videos - Good Agricultural Practices (GAPS)
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• **Produce Safety Videos - What Went Right and What Went Wrong
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• *Basic Culinary Math for School Nutrition Professionals
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• **Development of Middle/Jr. High School Student Surveys to Measure Factors that Impact Participation in and Satisfaction with the National School Lunch Program 
• **Increasing Middle/Junior High School Student Participation and Satisfaction
• **Nutrition Information at Point of Selection in High Schools Does it Affect Entree Choices?
• **Team Nutrition Local Wellness Demonstration Project
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• **ICN Best Practices for Serving Students with Special Food and/or Nutrition Needs In School Nutrition Programs
• **Overcoming Barriers to Participation in the Summer Food Service Program - An Identification of Best Practice Solutions 
• **Training and Educational Resource Needs of Child Care Professionals Participating in the CACFP
• **Examining Diversity in the School Nutrition Workforce
• **Identification of Issues Associated with Operating School Nutrition Programs in Districts with Less Than 30,000 Student Enrollment
• **Practices and Perceptions of School Nutrition Professionals Toward Obtaining the HealthierUS School Challenge Award
• **Unpublished Dissertations and Theses in Child Nutrition Programs and School Aged Children
• **Exploring Nutrition Literacy and Knowledge Among School Nutrition Managers
• **Implementation of HACCP-based Food Safety Programs in School Nutrition Programs
• **Ready, Set, Go! Creating and Maintaining a Wellness Environment in Child Care Centers Participating in the CACFP
• **Afterschool Care Program NSLP Snack Service
• **Exploring School Nutrition Professionals Preferences of USDA Recipes and R4HK Competition Recipes for Meeting New USDA Meal Pattern Requirements
• **In Classroom Breakfast Programs Best Practices
• **Research Related to Child Nutrition Programs
• **Determining the Job Functions of Child Care Providers in CACFP Operations
• **Exploring Standard Child Nutrition Key Performance Indicators
• **Investigation of Factors Impacting Participation of High School Students in the National School Lunch Program
• **Sustaining and Strengthening Local Wellness Initiatives
• **Identification of Available Training Resources Appropriate for Family Day Care Home Providers
• **Exploring the Impact of Productions and Equipment Decisions on the Operation of School Nutrition Programs
• **Investigation of School Professionals' Perceptions and Practices Regarding Issues Influencing Recess Placement in Elementary Schools
• **School Nutrition Experiences for Dietetics Students 
• **Job Functions/Duties, Competencies, Knowledge, and Skills of Sponsor Monitors Participating in the Child and Adult Care Food Program
• **CKS for Child Care Providers in CACFP
• **Exploring the Uniqueness of Child Nutrition Programs in Large School Districts
• **Investigation of the Job Functions and Training Needs of State Agency Child Nutrition Professionals
• **School Nutrition Professionals' Perceptions Regarding Their Role in Supporting and Contributing to School Wellness
• **Management Issues Impacting Family Day Care Homes Operating Within the Child and Adult Care Food Program Guidelines- A Review of Literature
• **CKS for District-Level School Nutrition Professionals
• **Farm to School Identifying Applied Research and Operational Resource Needs and Issues of Farm to School Programs
• **Job Description Template for CNP Director/Supervisor/Administrator 
• **School Nutrition Professionals’ Involvement in the Equipment Purchasing and Facility Design Process 
• **Training and Educational Resource Needs of Child Care Professionals Participating in the CACFP
• **Competencies, Knowledge, and Skills for School Nutrition Managers - Phase I
• **Financial Management Benchmarks for School Nutrition
• **Job Functions and Training Needs of State Agency Child Nutrition Professionals
• **School Nutrition Program Utilization of the NFSMI FUNDamentals Financial Management Software
• **Procurement Practices Influencing Programs Operating Within the Guidelines of the Child and Adult Care Food Program: A Review of Literature 
• **Competencies, Knowledge, and Skills for School Nutrition Managers - Phase II
• **Financial Management Issues and Practices in School Nutrition Programs
• **Knowledge and Skills Needed for State Agency Child Nutrition professionals in the 21st Century
• **School Wellness Policy Readiness of Principals to Implement Changes
• **Determining the Job Functions of Child Care Providers in CACFP Operations
• **Competency-Based Performance Appraisals for School Nutrition Managers and Assistants/Technicians
• **Focus Group Discussions with Elementary School Foodservice Directors, Teachers, and Parents Regarding the School Breakfast Program
• **Marketing the School Nutrition Program Resource Guide for School Nutrition Professionals
• **Secondary Analysis of the School Nutrition Dietary Assessment Data Base A Two Part Study
• **Competencies, Knowledge, and Skills for School Nutrition Managers
• **Cost Variables Associated with Producing and Serving a Reimbursable National School Lunch Program (NSLP) Snack for Children in Afterschool Care Programs, 2006
• **Going Green! A Case Study Approach Examining Green and Environmental Conservation Practices in School Nutrition Programs
• **Middle/Junior High School Participation and Non-Participation Survey Guide Internal Benchmarking for School Nutrition Programs
• **Serving the Nutritional Needs of Pre-Kindergarten Children in the Public School Setting Best Practices
• **Competencies, Knowledge, and Skills of Effective School Nutrition Assistants/Technicians
• **Wellness for Child and Adult Care Food Programs
• **Got Milk! Exploring How Student Preferences Impact Their Milk Selection in Schools
• **National Survey of School Nutrition Directors' Web-Based Training Needs
• **Steps to Nutrition Success Checklist A Program Self-Assessment Checklist for Family Day Care Home and Child Care Center Providers Participating in the Child and Adult Care Food Program
• **Determining Factors Impacting the Decision of Middle/Junior High School Students to Participate in the National School Lunch Program
• **Developing and Sustaining Green/Environmental Conservation Practices
• **NFSMI Research Agenda Conference 2013 Linking Research to Practice
• **Succession Planning for Management Level Staff in the School Nutrition Programs
• **Determining the Perceptions, Practices, and the Perceived Barriers Associated with School Professionals Serving the Nutritional Needs of the Pre-K Child in the Public School Setting 
• **ICN Applied Research Division SNA ANC 2016 Poster Session 
• **Nutrition and Wellness in Child Care Centers Participating in the Child and Adult Care Food Program
• **Sustainability of School Wellness Policy Initiatives
• *Key Performance Indicators
• *Emergency Readiness Plan: Guide and Forms for the School Foodservice Operation
• *Food Preparation Tools
• *Focus on the Customer for Directors and Managers
• *Family Child Care Food Allergy Fact Sheets
• *Child Care Center Food Safety Guide
• *Financial Management: A Course for School Nutrition Directors 2nd Edition
• *Basics at a Glance
• *S.T.A.R.
• **STAR August 2019
• **STAR September 2019
• **Para Directores en Espanol
• **June 2018
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• **August 2018
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• *Inventory Management and Tracking
• *State Agency
• *Capacitacion del cajero: comidas escolares reembolsables
• *Emergency Response Pocket Guide
• *CNRB Screenshot
• *Strategies, Training, Action Plans, Resources (STAR) Webinar Fact Sheets
• *Financial Management: A Course for School Nutrition Managers
• *Buy American: U.S. Agriculture Supporting Healthy School Meals
• *School Nutrition Mini Posters
• **School Meal Pattern Mini-Posters
• *ARD A-Z
• **Exploratory Investigation of the Roles, Responsibilities, and Impact of Chefs Working in School Nutrition Programs
• **Evaluation of ICN Training Program: Nutrition 101 (Online Mode)
• **The Impact of ICN's Nutrition 101: Voices of Participants
• **Marketing for School Nutrition Programs
• **CQI for the School Nutrition Environment
• **Data Driven Decision Making
• **Developing and Sustaining Green Practices
• **Increasing Middle/Jr High Student participation
• **Checklist for Implementing or Assessing Recess
• **Sustaining and Strengthening Local Wellness Initiaives
• **School Nutrition Experiences for Dietetic
• **Environmental Scan and Formative Research of Student Engagement Practices in Support of School Meal Programs - Phase I
• *Managing Personalities and Conflict
• *USDA OFS's COVID-19 Webinar Series Resources
• *Designing an Emergency Preparedness Templates
• *2023 RFP #725
• *Procuring Local Foods for Child Nutrition Programs
• *USDA Recipes for Schools
• *Competencies, Knowledge, and Skills for Child Care Provers in CACFP
• *Essential Key Performance Indicators for School Nutrition Success
• *STAR Webinar Resources
• **STAR April 2020
• **STAR May 2020
• **STAR June 2020
• **STAR July 2020
• **STAR August 2020
• **STAR September 2020
• *STAR Back to School Tools and Strategies To Address Supply Chain Challenges
• *Assembling and Managing a Student Nutrition Advisory Council

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