To identify farms that are most likely required to comply with the Produce Safety Rule (also known as FSMA), the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) obtained limited public information from the CalAg Permits system, maintained by the California Agricultural Commissioners and Sealers Association (CACASA), and used by each county to collect Pesticide Use [...]
The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) has begun its on-farm inspections as part of the Produce Safety Rule. Under the Produce Safety Rule, every produce farm must have an individual on staff who has completed an FDA-approved Produce Safety Rule Grower training course. California Produce Safety Program inspectors will ask to see your [...]
The California Citrus Quality Council is hosting a food safety workshop on August 6, 2019, at the Visalia Convention Center. The workshop includes an overview of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) and FDA regulations by United Fresh Produce Association’s Jennifer McEntire; good manufacturing practices by Steven Pao of CSU Fresno; packinghouse sanitation by Dr. [...]
The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) is announcing that starting next week, 8,000 “small” and “very small” produce farms throughout California are being mailed educational letters about their roles in upholding the Produce Safety Rule (PSR) of the federal Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), passed in 2011 to help prevent foodborne illness outbreaks. Accompanying [...]
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has reached a settlement with the Center for Food Safety (CFS) that will see the former designate “high risk” foods and propose special recordkeeping requirements for facilities that handle them by September 8, 2020. FDA has also agreed to publish the final rule and post the list of [...]
On Tuesday, April 30th the EPA released their Proposed Interim Registration Review Decision for glyphosate, an important step in the registration review process. The EPA responses contain several key comments, including: “The EPA conducted an independent evaluation of the carcinogenic potential of glyphosate and has determined that glyphosate is “not likely to be carcinogenic to humans.” The [...]
Last week we summarized the CCM Directors and members of the Government Relations committee trip to Sacramento to meet with legislators, regulatory agencies, and the administration on key policy issues impacting the industry. This week we have put together an in-depth description of the meetings that took place on the second day of the trip [...]
The California Department of Food and Agriculture has received funding from the FDA to provide Produce Safety Rule Grower Training courses at a reduced rate. A list of subsidized courses currently being offered in California through two different training firms is available here. The link to the website at CDFA also has a link to [...]
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration held one of several public meetings to discuss the recently published draft guidance created to help farmers meet the requirements of the Produce Safety Rule. Lori Apodaca, Director of Regulatory Affairs, attended the meeting on November 27, 2018, in Portland, OR. The draft guidance, entitled “Standards for the Growing, [...]
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued updated draft guidance for industry with respect to “Standards for the Growing, Harvesting, Packing, and Holding of Produce for Human Consumption.” The purpose of the guidance, or guidelines, is to help produce farms understand what they must do to comply with the requirements of the Produce Safety Rule under the [...]
