The state Department of Agriculture said Tuesday it began airing three public service announcements promoting agricultural food safety in the community.

They will air on Spectrum cable channels statewide through the end of the year, joining an earlier PSA on rat lungworm disease that debuted over the summer.

Besides encouraging farmers to follow good agricultural practices, the 30-second PSAs also urge home gardeners to read labels for pest control products carefully and use only as directed. The third PSA encourages everyone, including farmers, restaurants and consumers, to “make sure you’re doing your part to keep food safe for all of us” through the proper handling, cooking and storage of food.

“Recent cases of food-related illnesses have increased public concern and we all need to pay more attention to food safety from the farm to the table,” said Scott Enright, department director, in a news release. “We hope that these public service announcements encourage everyone to learn more about good agricultural and good food handling practices.”

The PSA geared toward farmers encourages them to become certified in good agricultural practices, or GAP. The GAP certification involves a voluntary audit that verifies that vegetables and fruits are produced, packed, handled and stored as safely as possible. More information is available at hdoa.hawaii.gov.