Penn State Extension to help with On-Farm Readiness Reviews for produce growers

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — In an effort to help produce growers comply with the new requirements of the Food Safety Modernization Act, Penn State Extension has partnered with the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture on a new, voluntary program to conduct informal farm evaluations.

The Produce Safety Rule, under the federal law that was signed in 2016 — often referred to as FSMA — mandates new farm food safety standards for growing, harvesting, packing and holding fresh produce.

Supported by funding from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, extension educators will accompany Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture inspectors conducting "On-Farm Readiness Reviews." The reviews will be no-cost inspections of produce-growing operations to identify possible areas of improvement related to compliance with the FSMA Produce Safety Rule.

Extension educators and state Department of Agriculture inspectors already have completed 30 such reviews this year and currently have more than 60 scheduled. To show interested growers what is involved, a mock review will be demonstrated at the vegetable tent demonstration area at the end of West 10th and West 11th streets at 10:30 a.m. all three days of Penn State's Ag Progress Days, Aug. 14-16.

Compliance dates for enforcement of the regulations are phased in according to average annual produce sales. Large produce farms (those with annual sales of more than $500,000) were to begin complying with FSMA requirements in January of this year. Medium-sized farms (those with annual sales between $250,000 and $500,000) have until January of 2019, while smaller farms (annual sales between $25,000 and $250,000) have until January of 2020. 

According to FSMA, within each farm category, an additional two years is granted for compliance with microbial standards for water that can come in contact with the harvestable part of the crop or food contact surfaces. 

On-Farm Readiness Reviews are opportunities for produce growers to have their operations appraised by FSMA Produce Safety Rule experts from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture and Penn State Extension. Growers also will be able to have conversations with the reviewers, according to Jeff Stoltzfus, an extension educator who is coordinating the On-Farm Readiness Reviews program for Penn State Extension.

"This is an opportunity to have their preharvest, harvest and postharvest conditions and practices evaluated, assess what they are doing well, and identify areas for improvement in food safety practices on their farms," he said. "It is very important that routine farm processes and operations — such as harvesting, washing and packing activities — are happening during the visit so reviewers can make accurate recommendations for produce-safety improvements specific to farms."

On-Farm Readiness Reviews, which will take approximately two hours, depending on the size of the operation, are intended only to help farmers, stressed Luke LaBorde, Penn State professor of food science and food safety extension specialist for fruit and vegetable processing. They are conducted for farmers' benefit to identify areas for improvement to help them prepare for actual FSMA Produce Safety Rule inspections once compliance dates are reached.

"Reviewers are not there to conduct an audit, inspection or any type of regulatory assessment," he said. "State inspectors and Penn State Extension educators will simply go to the farms that request reviews and tell farmers what they need to do to be in compliance."

The presence of extension educators should be reassuring to produce growers, LaBorde noted. "They are trusted advisers who will take the growers step-by-step through their farm operations and help them to see how close they are to meeting the new regulatory requirements, while giving them a heads up about what, if any, changes in their operations they will need to make," he said. 

"A benefit that Penn State Extension provides farmers is that educators will be available later if follow-up consultations are necessary to help develop strategies for complying with the regulations," added LaBorde.

For more information on the Produce Safety Regulation, visit the Penn State Extension FSMA Produce Safety Rule website, or contact Jeff Stoltzfus, statewide good agricultural practices extension educator and FSMA produce safety lead trainer, at 717-394-6851 or jhs3@psu.edu.

For regulatory questions on Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture activities that are related to the FSMA Produce Safety Rule, or to arrange an On-Farm Readiness Review, contact Lynn Zakos at 717-787-1873 or lzakos@pa.gov.