Tag: Food Safety

CDFA Produce Safety Program to Host PSP Portal Training Workshops

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The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) Produce Safety Program (PSP) will host a series of PSP Portal Training Workshops during November and December. Five in-person workshops will be held across the State of California between November 18 – December 17, 2024. A virtual workshop will be held on November 19, 2024.

Workshops will include a presentation that provides an overview of the CDFA Produce Safety Program, PSP Portal, and live training tutorials on how to navigate the website. All in-person workshops will have the first hour reserved for the training presentation and the remaining time dedicated for attendees that wish to receive one-on-one technical support with the PSP Portal. The virtual webinar will have the first hour reserved for the training presentation followed by a Q&A session.

Virtual Workshop | Click here to register!

November 19 | 9am – 11am | via Zoom

In-Person Workshops | Open to the Public

November 18 | 1pm – 4pm | Sacramento County

  • CDFA Auditorium: 1220 N St, Sacramento, CA 95814

November 20 | 9am – 12pm | Tehama County

  • County of Tehama Agricultural Commissioner’s Office: 1834 Walnut St, Red Bluff, CA 96080

December 4 | 9am – 12pm | Monterey County

  • County of Monterey Agricultural Commissioner’s Office: 1428 Abbott St, Salinas, CA 93901

December 5 | 9am – 12pm | Tulare County

  • County of Tulare Agricultural Commissioner’s Office: 4437 S Laspina St, Tulare, CA 93274

December 17 | 1pm – 4pm | Imperial County

  • El Centro Library with County of Imperial Agricultural Commissioner’s Office: 1198 N Imperial Ave, El Centro, CA 92243

What is the PSP Portal? The PSP Portal is a cloud-based farm data repository platform that allows California produce farmers and growers to view their own farm information and have on-demand access to their digital produce safety inspection reports related to their own farms. In addition, the PSP Portal will provide resources to support on-farm compliance with the requirements of the federal Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Produce Safety Rule and provide a convenient way for California growers to connect with PSP staff. The new technology will also allow the Produce Safety Program to focus inspection efforts based on food safety risk factors to help ensure a safe and quality food supply for all consumers of California fresh produce in the state, nationally and beyond.

Schedule a Free On-Farm Readiness Review Today!

Posted in EducationTagged , , , , , , , , , , ,

Are you prepared for your produce safety regulatory inspection? Are you wondering how the requirements of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Produce Safety Rule (PSR) apply to your farm and food safety practices?

Get answers to these questions and more by scheduling a free On-Farm Readiness Review!

Produce farms nationwide that are covered under the federal FSMA Produce Safety Rule are required to comply with the requirements of the Produce Safety Rule and are subject to mandatory regulatory inspections as required by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under the jurisdiction of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. In California, the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) Produce Safety Program (PSP) inspectors are duly appointed officers authorized to conduct on-farm produce safety regulatory inspections on behalf of the FDA.

To prepare for a produce safety inspection, California farm operators are encouraged to request an On-Farm Readiness Review (OFRR). An OFRR is a free, voluntary, customized assessment conducted before an initial regulatory inspection. An OFRR includes a farm walk-around and one-on-one conversations with CDFA PSP staff to discuss how the Produce Safety Rule applies to your operation.

An OFRR is not a regulatory inspection. Instead, it aims to help prepare you for your upcoming produce safety inspection and discuss enhanced food safety practices tailored to your unique farm needs. Farms that request an OFRR will receive a free OFRR produce safety manual, FSMA Produce Safety Rule regulatory pocket handbook, and recordkeeping templates. “Small”[1] and “Very Small”[2] farms that have not yet undergone an initial FSMA Produce Safety Rule regulatory inspection can especially benefit from an OFRR to aid in their preparation plan for their subsequent initial inspection.

In California, farm operators are encouraged to request a free OFRR assessment after completing the Produce Safety Alliance (PSA) Grower Training Course. Scheduling an OFRR is easy! Simply email producesafety@cdfa.ca.gov or call our Produce Safety Rule and Outreach Specialist, Angela Terrazas, at 916-809-0245. When requesting an OFRR, please be prepared to provide the following information to support a seamless scheduling process:

  1. Farm name and location
  2. A contact person and how to contact you
  3. What produce do you grow, harvest, pack, or hold?
  4. When are you harvesting?
  5. Have you completed the PSA Grower Training?

Questions? Please contact producesafety@cdfa.ca.gov or Angela Terrazas at 916-809-0245.

The CDFA Produce Safety Program is a unit operating under the CDFA Inspection Services Division with a mission to ensure California produce farmers understand how to comply with the requirements of the FSMA Produce Safety Rule, resulting in a safer food supply for the people of California and beyond.

Under the FSMA Produce Safety Rule, farms sizes are classified by the average annual gross produce sales adjusted for inflation over a three-year period. Click here to learn more about the FSMA Inflation Adjusted Cut Offs. “Large” farms have average annual produce sales above $500,000 adjusted for inflation.

[1] “Small” farms have average annual produce sales above $250,000 and up to $500,000 adjusted for inflation.

[2] “Very Small” farms have average annual produce sales above $25,000 and up to $250,000 adjusted for inflation.

FDA and Partners in Southwest Growing Region Share Findings from Multi-Year Environmental Study

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This study was initiated following a 2018 E. coli O157:H7 outbreak linked to romaine lettuce from the Southwest growing region and represents one of the largest environmental microbiology research efforts to date. Multi-year environmental studies are designed to shed light on environmental conditions that could impact food safety. Having this kind of study helps reinforce the shared commitment to public health through research, science and continuous improvement to promote science-informed food safety practices.

California continues to remain engaged in food safety discussions through the diverse stakeholders represented by the California Agricultural Neighbors (CAN) efforts and by way of the California Longitudinal Study. While the study mentioned below is unique to the Southwest growing region, a One Health approach recognizes the health of people, animals and the environment are intertwined with the goal of achieving holistic health outcomes. You can learn more about California’s One Health efforts related to produce safety on the CDFA Produce Safety One Health Initiatives webpage.

From the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Constituent Update
June 5, 2024

Today the U.S. Food and Drug Administration updated its website to share preliminary findings from a multi-year environmental study of a specific growing region within the Southwest growing region conducted in partnership with the Arizona Department of Agriculture, and in conjunction with the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension, the Wellton-Mohawk Irrigation and Drainage District (WMIDD), and members of the leafy greens industry. The study sought to better understand the ecology of human pathogens in the environment in the Southwest agricultural region, particularly how pathogens survive, move, and possibly contaminate produce prior to harvest, so that the agricultural community can work together to identify best practices to enhance food safety.

For More Information

Southwest Agricultural Region Environmental Microbiology Study

Click here to view the CDFA Inspection Services Blog with more details about the study and sign up for their mailing list by checking Inspection Service Blog – Latest News from Across the Division.

CDFA Launches Produce Safety One Health Initiatives Webpage

Posted in Announcements, Education, ImplementationTagged , , , , , , , ,

The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) Produce Safety Program (PSP) announces the launch of a Produce Safety One Health Initiatives webpage dedicated to California’s actions for enhanced produce safety based on the One Health approach.

In response to a series of E. coli O157:H7 outbreaks associated with leafy greens between 2018 to 2020, CDFA launched the California Longitudinal Study (CALS) in 2020 and California Agricultural Neighbors (CAN) in 2021. These actions are part of a collaborative effort across government agencies (federal, state, and local), universities, industry associations, and members of the produce, viticulture, livestock, and compost industries to initiate dialogues, address knowledge gaps, and foster enhanced produce safety practices.

The research efforts taking place in California are based on the globally supported One Health approach, a multidisciplinary systems-thinking approach that recognizes the health of people is interconnected to the health of animals, plants, and our shared environments. The One Health approach is a fundamental component of the national Healthy People initiative, released every decade since 1990 by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which guides health promotion and disease prevention efforts to improve the health of the nation.

The California Longitudinal Study (CALS) is a multi-year study launched in 2020 targeted towards adaptively identifying environmental factors affecting foodborne pathogens to address knowledge gaps and assist in solutions-oriented outcomes for growers and affiliates in the agriculture industry. To accomplish this, California’s leafy green industry is collaborating with state and federal agencies, the UC Davis Western Center for Food Safety, and partners across California’s cattle, viticulture, and compost industries.

California Agricultural Neighbors (CAN) is a collaborative effort led by CDFA and the Monterey County Farm Bureau (MCFB) launched in 2021 that provides a roundtable forum to foster dialogue and neighborly practices for enhanced food safety when agriculture operations are adjacent to one another. CAN efforts are supported by the California Farm Bureau Federation, California Cattlemen’s Association, Western Growers Association, and the California Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement to help with facilitation services provided by Abby Dilley, RESOLVE. The full 2022 CAN Report is available for review here.  

To learn more about California’s Produce Safety One Health Initiatives, please visit https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/producesafety/onehealthinitiatives/.

FDA Publishes Final Rule on Pre-Harvest Agricultural Water

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On May 6, 2024, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published a final rule on pre-harvest agricultural water revising certain requirements in Subpart E of the FSMA Produce Safety Rule (PSR) for covered produce (other than sprouts) for enhanced produce safety.

The new rule replaces the prior pre-harvest water microbial quality criteria and testing requirements with requirements for systems-based agricultural water assessments for hazard identification and risk management. Agricultural water assessments will now need to be conducted once annually, and whenever a significant change occurs that increases the likelihood of hazards being introduced to produce or food contact surfaces. The new rule does not change existing agricultural water requirements for sprouts or harvest and post-harvest water uses.

FDA states this new rule:

  • Establishes requirements for agricultural water assessments that evaluate a variety of factors that are key determinants of contamination risks associated with pre-harvest agricultural water. This includes an evaluation of the water system, water use practices, crop characteristics, environmental conditions, potential impacts on water from adjacent and nearby land, and other relevant factors.
  • Includes testing pre-harvest agricultural water as part of an assessment in certain circumstances.
  • Requires farms to implement effective mitigation measures within specific timeframes based on findings from their assessments. Hazards related to certain activities associated with adjacent and nearby land uses are subject to expedited mitigation.
  • Adds new options for mitigation measures, providing farms with additional flexibility in responding to findings from their pre-harvest agricultural water assessments.

The final rule is effective July 5, 2024. Compliance dates for the pre-harvest agricultural water requirements for covered produce (other than sprouts) are as follows[1]:

  • For Large farms: April 7, 2025 (9 months after the effective date of the final rule)
  • For Small farms: April 6, 2026 (1 year, 9 months after the effective date of the final rule)
  • For Very Small farms: April 5, 2027 (2 years, 9 months after the effective date of the final rule)

If you have questions about the Produce Safety Rule, please contact producesafety@cdfa.ca.gov.

Additional Resources:

[1] Under the FSMA Produce Safety Rule, farms sizes are classified by the average annual gross produce sales adjusted for inflation over a 3-year period. Click here to learn more about the FSMA Inflation Adjusted Cut Offs. “Large” farms have average annual produce sales above $500,000 adjusted for inflation. “Small” farms have average annual produce sales above $250,000 and up to $500,000 adjusted for inflation. “Very Small” farms have average annual produce sales above $25,000 and up to $250,000 adjusted for inflation.

CDFA Produce Safety Program Launches Phase 1 of the Online PSP Portal Including California Produce Grower Notifications

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The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) Produce Safety Program (PSP) announces the launch of Phase 1 of the Farm Data Repository website, also known as the PSP Portal.

Beginning in April 2024, California produce farms required to comply with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Produce Safety Rule will be added into the system on an ongoing, rolling basis. Once added, growers can anticipate receiving a welcome email notification with instructions on how to create an online account and verify their account information.

Growers who receive a welcome email are encouraged to login and verify the information listed for their farm to ensure accurate information regarding their own operations is on file with CDFA PSP.

Questions and technical support requests regarding the PSP Portal can be submitted to producesafety@cdfa.ca.gov.

In January 2024, CDFA PSP announced the development of a new, digital data repository system for California farms and farm inspections to support statewide compliance with the FSMA Produce Safety Rule.

The PSP Portal website will result in California farmers having password-protected access to the data CDFA PSP collects on their farms and operations, including inspection reports and educational communications. Additionally, this system will allow CDFA PSP to efficiently allocate inspection efforts based on food safety risk factors to help ensure a safe and quality food supply for the people of California and beyond.