The third FDA Proposed Produce Food Safety Rule Q & A conference call, coordinated by the Produce Safety Alliance, was held on Monday. This conference call focused on soil amendment use in the proposed rule. Details on soil amendments in the proposed rule can be found in Section F Biological Soil Amendments.  The FDA officially announced that it will extend the comment period by 120 days, allowing comments until September 16, 2013. Visit the FDA webiste to comment on these proposed rules.

Here are the questions from agricultural organizations and growers and answers from the FDA on Monday’s conference call:

1. If raw manure is applied to a field and then plastic is laid prior to seeding or transplanting is this a practice that is accepted to reduce the days to harvest to zero? [Read more…]

Food Safety Modernization Act – here is some information on new FDA water rules for water used for growing and packing produce and values for pathogens in water and the questions and how FDA answers them including:

• What changes are required for water
• What uses are not exempt anymore
• Which water sources have to be tested
• How often is water testing required

This is a recorded session in MP3 format produced by the Produce Alliance.

The second FDA Proposed Produce Food Safety Rule Q & A conference call, coordinated by the Produce Safety Alliance, was held yesterday.  This conference call focused on agricultural water use in the proposed rule.  To comment on these proposed rules go to Docket Folder Summary: Standards for the Growing, Harvesting, Packing, and Holding of Produce for Human Consumption. Comments are due by May 16, 2013

Here are the highlights of yesterday’s conference call: [Read more…]

The Produce Safety Alliance, in collaboration with the FDA, will be hosting a series of Q & A teleconferences to discuss specific sections of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Proposed Produce Safety Rule. See the attachment for teleconference dates and times on the following topics:

• Understanding Exemptions
• Agricultural Water
• Soil Amendments
• Domestic and Wild Animals
• Growing, Harvesting, Packing & Holding Activities
• Equipment, Tools, Buildings, & Sanitation
• Health, Hygiene, and Worker Training
• Recordkeeping, Compliance, & Enforcement

Remember comments or questions regarding issues the FDA should clarify or address in the final rule or in companion guidance document must be submitted before May 16, 2013. See attachment for submission delivery options.

In this update we summarize of some of the material most recently presented by the Food and Drug Administration on the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA).
FSMA Proposed – Sec. 105 Rule

Also find a compliance decision tree for US growers of fruits, vegetables, nuts, mushrooms, herbs, or sprouts. This rule will impact most growers in New Jersey. If you have questions do not hesitate to contact Meredith Melendez or myself.

Webinar Date: February 7, 2013 2:30 – 3:30 p.m.

While the USDA has no formal role in the development or implementation of the proposed rules for the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, the agency’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) Fruit and Vegetable Program is hosting the webinar as a service to the produce industry.

Dr. Jim Gorny, Senior Advisor, Produce Safety, for FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition will deliver a presentation on two groundbreaking FDA proposed rules under the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, or FSMA, with an emphasis on the proposed Standards for the Growing, Harvesting, Packing and Holding of Produce for Human Consumption. The proposed rules published in the Federal Register on Jan. 16, 2013 provide for a 120 day comment period. [Read more…]