Routine Produce Inspections to Start in Spring, FDA Offering Compliance Support
After FDA delayed product inspections under FSMA to further prepare industry and ensure there was enough training and education, the agency is reminding farmers and other stakeholders in the produce industry that there are resources available to help them in preparing for the routine inspections—for large farms, these will start in the spring. The inspections will be conducted to verify compliance with the Produce Safety rule.
Resources include the FDA’s produce safety inspections page on its website to serve as a central resource for industry and state partners during the inspection preparation process and the draft guidance, “Standards for the Growing, Harvesting, Packing, and Holding of Produce for Human Consumption”.
An FDA Voices blog by FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, M.D., Deputy Commissioner for Food Policy and Response Frank Yiannas and Associate Commissioner of Regulatory Affairs Melinda Plaisier also discussed how the agency has been supporting industry work to comply with the rule, including:
- Granting 46 states and one territory with more than $85 million through the State Produce Implementation Cooperative Agreement Program to aid in the development of state produce safety systems that offer education, outreach and technical assistance
- With partners, supporting the training of more than 31,000 produce farmers globally on the Produce Safety rule requirements
- The sharing of expertise via the FDA’s Produce Safety Network
- With partners, the creation of a new inspection form that gives farms feedback and observations that occurred during the inspection, regardless of whether non-compliance issues were found, in an effort to help explain what they’re looking at and how observations apply to the produce rule