Produce Safety Immersion Program

The Produce Safety Immersion Program is a six month long program developed to build the technical capacity, critical thinking skills, and leadership attributes of the next generation of produce safety professionals. The program is comprised of webinars, in-person trips, virtual seminars, peer connections, and an ongoing mentorship program, and will focus on developing early-to-mid career professionals with less than five years’ experience in produce safety. Applications for Class 4 will open in January of 2023.

Who Should Participate?

Candidates early in their produce safety careers, food safety professionals moving from other food sectors into produce, and members of the produce industry who have recently taken on a food safety role, are encouraged to participate. Participants must be members of the International Fresh Produce Association.

Who Should Mentor?

Three to four highly-skilled produce safety professionals will serve as mentors to the program fellows and will accompany them at each meeting over the course of the year.

"As one of the mentors of the Immersion Program, I have been pleased to see that these young people have the same passion for produce and food safety as those of us who have been in this field for a long time. Their eagerness to learn is encouraging since there are always new mitigation strategies and regulations to keep up with. We have been able to connect them with many experienced people that they will be able to call on for guidance long after they graduate and we are looking forward to doing the same for future classes."

Cheryl Enlow

Produce Safety Immersion Mentor and Chair of the Food Safety Council

Renaissance Food Group

Additional Resources

Present-Day Food Safety Leadership Advice for Future Food Safety Leaders (August-September, 2019; Food Safety Magazine)

Building Food Safety Leaders (April-May, 2015; Food Safety Magazine)

Food Safety Matters Podcast feat. Lone Jeperson: “Culture Comes First” (June 13, 2017; Food Safety Magazine)

Immersion Program Class 3 San Antonio Trip

The third class of the Immersion Program met for the first time in San Antonio on May 17-20. They visited HEB, Fresh TX, Mucci Farms and Food Safety Net Services (FSNS). They were accompanied by Katie McGowan, Jennifer McEntire, Tressie Jefferson and two of the Immersion Program mentors. In addition to the site visits, the group also partook in some education sessions and presented their group projects to their peers, mentors and some members of the HEB food safety team. The group also went on a Riverwalk Cruise through downtown San Antonio.

Produce Safety Immersion Program participants in San Antonio