Hartnell College Hosts WIFSS Food Safety Training Dealing with Potential Agroterroism
Chris Brunner, September 12, 2014
Hartnell College, located in the heart of the Salinas Valley, one of California’s most productive agricultural produce regions, is hosting a series of six agroterrorism courses. David Goldenberg from the UC Davis, Western Institute for Food Safety and Security will be at the helm of these U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) courses.
Goldenberg, Acting Program Manager and Coordinator for Field Training at WIFSS, points out that the Agricultural Business and Technology Institute at Hartnell is partnering with WIFSS to conduct the training courses, which kicked off on September 5. These courses emphasize the importance of awareness of and preparedness for disasters that can affect the agricultural industry. Preparedness includes having a response action plan in which all community members and organizations have a coordinated disaster response strategy.
The series of six courses developed at WIFSS are certified by DHS and are sponsored by, and offered through, the Rural Domestic Preparedness Consortium. These courses being delivered at Hartnell are geared toward traditional first responders as well as community emergency planners, public health officials, and members of the agricultural community including county officials, local farmers and ranchers who are interested in training addressing potential threats to food safety and food security.
The first courses, AWR 151 – Understanding the Dangers of Agroterrorism and AWR 152 – Principles Principles of Preparedness for Agroterrorism and Food Systems’ Disasters have taken place.
Learn more about the courses in The Californian article “Hartnell offers courses for an unthinkable ag threat.”