You have heard us say it many times, hand washing is one of the most important ways of reducing the risk of human pathogen contamination of produce. Hand washing stations should be easy to use, and they do not need to be expensive to be effective. Portability is important for field work that may take place away from fixed hand washing locations. A build your own model can cost less than $25. You need potable water, soap, single use paper towels, a trash receptacle and a method of catching the grey water. There are lots of options out there, you just need to be a little creative to figure out what will work best for your operation. The Rutgers info sheet below shows the materials needed to build one portable model. Other options, such as the pictured hands free clip on station, are available online.
Recordkeeping in 2016 Important for FSMA Exemption and Compliance in 2018
The FDA expects fresh produce growers to prove their exemption or need for compliance with the FSMA Produce Rule starting January 2018. The catch is that they will expect to see records from the previous three years. Keep this in mind so that if you are asked to show your records in 2018 in relation to the FSMA Produce Rule you will be prepared with records starting in 2016. The FDA has not yet specified the exact documents that they are looking for. You should be prepared to show evidence of the total amount of human and animal food sold by the farm.
Organic Options:
Cabbage Maggot & Pest Control Efficacy
A round table meeting of the Organic Farm Advisory group took place this week with discussion on the successes and problems of last season. The need for relative efficacy continues and brings up the chance to revisit a timely article that was the result of last year’s discussion.
What are my organic treatment options and how well do they work? As an organic grower, I sometimes accept less control, and more costly treatment than conventional farmers, but the information on efficacy is unclear. If Rutgers isn’t doing efficacy trials, can you sift through the literature to tell me what others have found that definitely works?
Control of cabbage root maggot (CRM) is a timely example that illustrates the ‘struggle for relative efficacy’ in making organic recommendations when compared with conventional options. Forsythia in bloom–any day now–occurs at about the same time that farmers can expect CRM to damage their transplanted cole crops. Even light CRM infestations can kill small seedlings and transplants, delay crop development, and render root crops unsaleable. Higher populations can kill older plants or reduce yield.
- monitoring and control of CRM in cole crops.
- the use of online weather station degree-day (DD) data to predict CRM activity and timing of treatment – instead of relying on phenology.
- how the lack of field research capacity makes recommendations difficult for organic pest controls in comparison with conventional controls.
- why talent scouting (sifting through the literature) is an adjunct to research capacity, not a replacement.
On-Farm Food Safety Trainings – UPDATED!
Winter on-farm food safety trainings are currently being offered throughout the state. Third party audit, Good Agricultural Practices, and opportunities for writing a farm food safety plan are offered this winter. Registration is required!
We are no longer offering the certificate based training for the Food Safety Modernization Act Produce Rule, and are waiting on the FDA to release their approved training materials. The FSMA trainings will most likely be held starting in the fall of 2016. All scheduled on-farm food safety trainings will include an overview of the FSMA so that you can better understand the regulations and its implications for your produce operation.
FSMA Produce Safety Rule Now Final
The FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Produce Safety rule is now final, and the earliest compliance dates for some farms begin one year after the effective date of the final rule (see “Compliance Dates” below). The rule establishes, for the first time, science-based minimum standards for the safe growing, harvesting, packing, and holding of fruits and vegetables grown for human consumption. The FDA has created a factsheet highlighting the produce safety rule.
This rule was first proposed in January 2013. In response to input received during the comment period and during numerous public engagements that included public meetings, webinars, listening sessions, and visits to farms across the country, the FDA issued a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking in September 2014. The proposed revisions were designed to make the originally proposed rule more practical, flexible, and effective.
The final rule is a combination of the original proposal and revisions outlined in the supplemental proposal, with additional changes as appropriate. The definition of “farm” and related terms were revised in the final Preventive Controls for Human Food rule, and the same definitions of those terms are used in this rule to establish produce safety standards. Operations whose only activities are within the farm definition are not required to register with FDA as food facilities and thus are not subject to the preventive controls regulations.
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On Farm Food Safety Winter Trainings Announced
On-farm food safety trainings will be held this winter throughout the state. Certificate based third party audit trainings will be offered in Rosenhayn and Chatsworth. Three additional trainings, located in Atlantic City, Trenton and Pittstown, will offer the required curriculum for compliance with the Food Safety Modernization Act. More information on who will need to comply with FSMA to be published soon, as the final rule was just released and we are working to understand its implications for NJ produce growers.
Registration is required for attendance at these trainings!