Project Aims to Reduce Food Safety Barriers for Organic Growers

USDA awarded a $3.5 million Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative (OREI) grant to help reduce food safety barriers for organic specialty crop growers, reports Food Safety News. The Organic Center is leading this effort, which is focused on getting growers to keep doing organic production by addressing challenges to meeting both food safety and organic requirements. The project will involve regional workshops in 2026 and 2027 to align the aims of growers and regulators. It will also offer webinars, create a tool for making food-safe compost, and provide online training modules on food safety.