On August 8, the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) Produce Safety Program (PSP) attended the Small Farmer Produce Safety Workshop hosted by City Farm San Luis Obispo (SLO) in San Luis Obispo, CA.

PSP’s Supervisory Senior Environmental Scientist Benjamin Taylor met with local farmers to discuss the requirements of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Produce Safety Rule. Taylor covered on-farm food safety best practices and conducted a mock inspection to help farmers prepare for their first official regulatory inspections.

Taylor also shared information on several of CDFA’s no-cost food safety education services including Produce Safety Alliance (PSA) Grower Trainings in partnership with CDFA Farm to School Network, On-Farm Readiness Reviews (OFRRs), and technical assistance through the CDFA Technical Assistance Program (TAP).

If interested in partnering with CDFA PSP on a food safety training event or to learn more about our no-cost food safety services, please contact producesafety@cdfa.ca.gov.

To stay up to date with news related to CDFA’s Produce Safety Program, sign up for the Produce Safety Program Mailing List by checking the Inspection Services Division (ISD) / Inspection and Compliance Branch / Produce Safety Program box. To learn more about CDFA’s Produce Safety Program, please visit https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/producesafety/.