Orchardists and packing house managers continue to find themselves challenged in the turbulent arena of food safety.
More research is needed on the intersection of tree fruits and dangerous human pathogens; new and costly water-testing requirements for orchards are on the horizon; enhanced employee food safety training will be required; and a new federal regulatory enforcement regime, one attended by the threatening dark cloud of possible criminal sanctions, is moving into place.
Regulations implementing the Food Safety Modernization Act are now being finalized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Two such regulations were issued on September 10, two are scheduled for the end of October, and two more will emerge in 2016. They will have varying dates for full compliance.
The means to enforce these FSMA regulations is still uncertain. FDA claims insufficient resources in terms of both budget and personnel. It wants more money from Congress.
It would also like state departments of agriculture to be its “partners” in making sure the new law is followed in the produce field and packing house. States wonder who will pay for this new activity and worry about being viewed as an “enforcer against” not a “partner with” local agriculture.
