I Am a PYO Apple Grower—Does the Produce Safety Rule Affect Me?

The Produce Safety Rule (PSR) section of the U.S. Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) is aimed at reducing the risk of human exposure to microbial pathogens when fresh fruits and vegetables are consumed raw. Most all fruits and vegetables that are generally eaten raw are covered. That will include most tree fruit crops (excluding sour cherries and figs). Find the full list of covered produce here: https:// producesafetyalliance.cornell.edu/sites/ producesafetyalliance.cornell.edu/files/shared/ documents/FSMA-Regulatory-Table.pdf

The Produce Safety Rule is a mandatory federal regulation that is implemented based on the amount of produce sold and to whom.

UME OFFERS PRIVATE PESTICIDE RESERTIFICATION & NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT VOUCHER TRAINING

University of Maryland Extension is offering private pesticide applicator and Nutrient Management certifications and recertification classes for farmers/producers during the fall, winter, and spring season. To find a listing for classes/ workshops near you go to:

You are exempt if you sold less than an average of $26,999 in covered and non-covered produce over the previous three-year period.

You are required to comply to the rule if you sold over an average of $539,982 in produce sales per year in the last three-year period.

It is the middle area – the qualified exempt status that gets complicated. A QE producer will meet the following criteria: o your average total food* sales were less than $539,982.

o

o

A lot will depend on what percentage of your food* sales were to “qualified end users”. So who is a qualified end user? 1. Your PYO and farm market customers and 2. restaurants and retail food stores in the same state and less than 275 miles away and they sell directly to the consumer. More than half (50.1%) of the value of the total food* sold went to the aforementioned qualified end users.

*For this calculation grains, animal feeds, poultry, livestock, etc. are included

If you find that you fall into either the qualified exempt or required compliance categories, what do you do? The first step would be to attend a Produce Safety Alliance training on the PSR. That training will outline the compliance requirements. Though lengthy, the PSR requirements are fairly common sense standards and procedures that you are probably already implementing on your farm and are very similar to GAP (Good Agricultural Practices) certification requirements. These are the dates and locations of the 2019-2020 season.

December 4, 2019 – Princess Anne January 24, 2020 – Howard County February 6, 2020 – Montgomery County March 3, 2020 – Garrett County

Use Eventbrite to enroll: https://www.eventbrite.com/o/university-of-maryland-extension-5296025477

You will need at least one person on your farm who has taken the training. It is very important that the PSA trained person be in a position to update procedures and train workers in the PSR standards.

In Maryland we are privileged to have the Maryland Department of Agriculture overseeing PSR compliance. Inspections of the larger producers have already started and many farms are electing to have an On Farm Readiness Review (OFRR) before an inspection. The OFRR brings three specialists to your farm: someone from MDA, someone from your local extension office, and a food safety educator from the University of Maryland. This team will go over the compliance requirements with you and look specifically at your farm’s unique situation. Even the FDA is looking at this first year as a time of education not retribution. I have attended many OFRR’s this year and the farmer feedback is that they are very helpful and give real, reasonable application to what can be a very confusing set of laws. The goal is to develop a food safety culture on your farm and with your workers to help keep your customers safe.

University of Maryland Extension Events: extension.umd.edu/events Pesticide Education and Assessment Program http://pesticide.umd.edu/

Private Pesticide Recertification Meetings: https://mda.maryland.gov/ plants-pests/Documents/ Private-Applicator-RecertMeetings-2019-2020-Final.pdf Nutrient Applicator Voucher Courses: http://mda.maryland.gov/ resource_conservation/ Pages/nutrient_management _training_program.aspx

WESTERN MARYLAND REGIONAL FRUIT MEETING TO BE HELD ON FEB. 13, 2020

The Western Maryland Regional Fruit Meeting has been scheduled to take place on Thursday, February 13, 2020, at the Western Maryland Research and Education Center in Keedysville, MD from 9 AM to 4 PM Registration information will be posted in midDecember on the Grapes and Small Fruit website at extension.umd. edu/smallfruit