Hort Convention & Added Inspectors Needed for Marijuana Infused Edibles
Hort Convention & Added Inspectors Needed for Marijuana Infused EdiblesI'm Lacy Gray with Washington Ag Today.
On Monday tree fruit growers and shippers from around the state will gather at the Three Rivers Convention Center in Kennewick for the 110th Washington State Horticultural Association Annual meeting and NW Hort Expo. Ag Information Network's Greg Martin has more.
MARTIN: Thanks Lacy. This marks the first year that the meeting will be held in the Tri-Cities. Entitled "With New Discoveries and New Truths We Advance" the three day event will be packed with sessions on a variety of topics from new paradigms in the fields to precision horticulture. On Tuesday there will be a 2 hour tractor safety class taught by Washington Labor and Industries. Also new this year will be a cherry orchard field tour during the cherry session, and a smartphone app. that includes the meeting schedule, exhibitor list, an interactive map, and updates. Topics to be covered during the event include food safety, pest and disease management, global and domestic trends, labor prospects, and crop production technology. The meeting will also include the expo and trade show with exhibitors displaying the newest innovations for the 2015 growing season.
Until recently on one WSDA Food Safety Division employee was conducting inspections of marijuana infused edibles. With the growing interest in the production of these products WSDA has now trained seven additional food safety officers to conduct these inspections, locating three in Eastern Washington and five in Western Washington. All businesses wanting to produce marijuana infused edibles must first pass a WSDA inspection before they can be licensed to operate from the Washington State Liquor Control Board. To date 22 businesses have passed the WSDA inspection process.
That's Washington Ag Today.
I'm Lacy Gray with the Ag Information Network of the West.