The California Department of Agriculture’s (CDFA) Produce Safety Program is now circulating an e-newsletter that provides regular updates on topics relating to the Food Safety Modernization Act’s Produce Safety Rule. This Produce Safety e-newsletter will regularly include information to assist California farmers in making sure their operations comply with the Produce Safety Rule before government inspections begin in 2019. Anyone interested can sign up for the Produce Safety Program’s e-newsletter here.
As part of the new website created for CDFA’s Produce Safety Program, a monthly blog is featured. The e-newsletter will distribute this blog to subscribers along with additional information and updates on the Produce Safety Rule.
One topic to be featured in upcoming newsletters concerns On-Farm Readiness Reviews (OFRRs). OFRRs are non-regulatory demonstrations designed to give farmers a better understanding of what they can expect from routine inspections provided by our new Produce Safety Program unit under CDFA. You’ll be hearing more about these OFRRs in the coming weeks and we strongly urge produce industry groups to schedule an OFRR now. You can do so on our website here.
We are working to get more produce farmers signed up to receive our Produce Safety Program e-newsletter. We’re asking for assistance from California’s network of produce-related commodity boards, commissions and associations, many of whom have their own newsletters or magazines. To help in this effort, we ask that you please include information about our new e-newsletter in your upcoming grower publications. To make it easy, we’ve provided the following information you can cut and paste:
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Sign up for CDFA e-Newsletter on Produce Safety Rule
Attention produce farmers [or fill in the specific commodity], would you like more information about new food safety regulations you are required to follow under the Food Safety Modernization Act’s Produce Safety Rule? The California Department of Food and Agriculture has created a new website and newsletter designed specifically to educate California produce farmers on how to comply with this new regulation. You can sign up to receive this e-newsletter here. [link = https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/producesafety/mailinglist.html]
The newsletter will be distributed monthly by CDFA’s new Produce Safety Program, which is charged with implementing the Produce Safety Rule in California. You can learn more about this program on their website. [link = https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/producesafety/]
[produce association name] urges you to sign up to receive this newsletter as all of us in California produce farming learn about what will be expected of us in the coming months and years.
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Getting information out to California produce farmers through our newsletter and website will help achieve our vision for 100 percent compliance with the Produce Safety Rule so that our state continues to grow the safest produce possible.