The Kansas Department of Agriculture, in partnership with K-State Research and Extension, Kaw Valley Mycological Society and the University of Kansas, is offering a session to help people earn the necessary approval to sell wild morel mushrooms. The session will take place on Saturday, Feb. 4, 2017, from 9:00 to 10:00 a.m. at the Sedgwick County Extension Education Center, 7001 W. 21st Street N. in Wichita. The session will be held as one of the breakout sessions of the Central Kansas Market Grower & Vendor Workshop which will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Feb 4.
The session is intended to help ensure that wild harvested mushrooms sold as morels in the state of Kansas are safe to consume. Current regulations under KDA’s food safety and lodging program require that mushrooms picked in the wild for sale must be individually inspected for safety by an approved mushroom identifier. Upon completion of this workshop, participants will be recognized as approved morel identifiers in order to meet this regulation. This is a three-year approval.
The morel mushroom identification session itself is free of charge and open to the public. However, if participants attend the rest of the market grower and vendor workshop, they will need to pay $20 for the entire workshop ($25 if registering after Jan. 27, 2017) which includes the cost of lunch. Pre-registration for the morel identification session is required.
To register for the session and/or the entire workshop visit www.sedgwick.k-state.edu/ and click on “Central Kansas Market Vendor & Grower Workshop” under “Events” on the right side. For more information on the morel mushroom identification session, contact Londa Nwadike, KSU/MU extension food safety specialist, at (913) 307-7391 or lnwadike@ksu.edu.
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WHO: The Kansas Department of Agriculture, K-State Research and Extension, Kaw Valley Mycological Society and the University of Kansas
WHAT: Morel Mushroom Identification Session
WHEN: Feb. 4, 2017, 9:00 to 10:00 a.m.
WHERE: Sedgwick County Extension Education Center, 7001 W. 21st Street N., Wichita