Under the Produce Safety Rule, every produce farm must have an individual employed who has completed an FDA-approved Produce Safety Rule Grower Training, or equivalent course. In addition, all personnel engaged in the supervision of personnel who handle (contact) covered produce or food contact surfaces must receive training as specified in the Rule.

This course provides training to ensure a responsible party employed by the farm understands required food safety practices, can train other employees, and can recognize conditions that could lead to contamination of covered produce and take appropriate action to correct those conditions.

The Produce Safety Rule Grower Training need only be taken once; however, the certificate of completion belongs to the individual and not the farm.

California Produce Safety Program inspectors will ask to see your designated food safety employee’s certificate as part of your on-farm inspection.

Frequently Asked Questions:
https://www.fda.gov/food/food-safety-modernization-act-fsma/frequently-asked-questions-fsma#collapseFifteen

About the Training Program

For farms covered by the Produce Safety Rule, the Grower Training Course developed by the Produce Safety Alliance (PSA) is adequate as the standardized curriculum.

FDA recently released draft guidance on selecting alternate criteria for the Grower Training course. The purpose of this guidance is to provide recommendations on the factors that covered farms should consider if they are selecting an alternate curriculum training to meet the requirements of the Produce Safety Rule, and that educators should consider when developing or evaluating alternate curricula. For more information, please visit FDA’s website:
https://www.fda.gov/food/food-safety-modernization-act-fsma/whats-new-fsma

How to Find an approved Grower Training Course

The Produce Safety Alliance maintains a website which lists publicly available Produce Safety Training Courses. Announcing the PSA Website - En espanol!

Learn More About the Proposed Water Requirements Revision

FDA hosted two public meetings (approximately 5 hours each) to support the public's understanding of the proposed rule revision; recordings are available

• 14 Feb 2022   (Western time zones)
• 25 Feb 2022   (Eastern time zones)

In addition, the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) and CDFA were co-hosts of a one-hour FDA webinar on 11 March, 2022 that focused on the Western states.

Until the rulemaking process has been completed, PSP continues to exercise enforcement discretion for this section of the PSR following FDA policy.

Inspections

External Food Safety Links

• Produce Safety Alliance Cornell University
• Western Regional Center to Enhance Food Safety
• Northeastern Center to Enhance Food Safety
• U.S. Food and Drug Administration
• FDA Technical Assistance Network, FAQ
• Association of Food and Drug Officials (AFDO)
  • Produce Safety Rule Inspections and Voluntary USDA Audits

Flooding Response Resources

• CDFA Produce Safety Program: Farm Flooding Fact Sheet
• California Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement (LGMA): Flooding Resources
• California LGMA: Flooding Infographics & Assessments
• FDA Guidance for Industry: Evaluating the Safety of Flood-affected Food Crops for Human Consumption
• FDA: Resources for Human and Animal Food Producers Affected by Flooding
• FDA: Safety of Food and Animal Food Crops Affected by Hurricanes, Flooding, and Power Outages
• UC Food Safety: Food Safety After a Disaster
• UC Small Farm Food Safety: Produce Safety and Flood Resources
• UC Small Farm Food Safety: Potential Biological Hazards Associated with Use of Contaminated Agricultural Water
• Produce Safety Alliance: Food Safety for Flooded Farms

Are you ready for a Produce Safety Inspection? Find out now! Produce Safety Rule regulatory inspections began for large farms in spring 2019. But CDFA offers non-regulatory On-Farm Readiness Reviews (OFRRs) for small and very small farms. These are designed to give farmers a better understanding of what they can expect from a routine Produce Safety Inspection. Please note that the PSA Grower Training is required before scheduling an OFRR, and it is preferable to schedule an OFRR during harvest periods. Please be prepared to provide the following information:

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

Contact us at producesafety@cdfa.ca.gov to schedule an OFRR.