Universities inviting you to participate in Produce Safety for Indoor Growers Survey

The produce safety teams from Auburn University, Alabama A&M University, and the University of Georgia would like to invite you to participate in this survey to collect information about knowledge gaps in food safety practices among indoor produce growers.  

Who should participate?

You may participate if you are an adult over 18 years of age and are a produce grower, harvester, packer, seller, food safety personnel, or otherwise involved in the production of fresh produce using indoor agriculture methods, including hydroponics and aquaponics. Participants will be asked to complete an online Qualtrics survey, which will take around 20 to 30 minutes, depending on the farmer’s food safety practices. 

This survey is voluntary and anonymous. 

There are no foreseeable risks associated with participation in the survey. There are no costs to complete the survey. Your participation will be used to improve the quality of food safety training and outreach programs for indoor, soilless growing. Additionally, if you choose, you may provide contact information to be entered into a raffle for a $100 prepaid debit card as compensation for completing the survey. Ten participants will be randomly selected to win after the survey is closed. If you do not wish to enter the raffle or provide contact information, you may still complete the survey without doing so. 

Why should you participate?

The purpose of this survey is to improve the quality of food safety educational programs and to develop a targeted food safety educational curriculum for indoor produce growers.  Link to the survey: https://auburn.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6YEJktzNokeiXxc 

 Questions?

If you would like to know more information about this survey, an information letter can be obtained by sending me an email at czr0079@auburn.edu. If you decide to participate after reading the letter, you can access the survey from a link in the letter.

 This work is supported by the Food Safety Outreach Program grant no. 22022-70020-37574 from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.