PRODUCE SAFETY PROGRAM

The Kentucky Department of Agriculture (KDA) is responsible for implementing and educating Kentucky producers about the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) and the Produce Safety Rule. The KDA's Produce Safety Program was established in 2019 and is a federally funded program through partnership with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). 

For more information about the Produce Safety Rule, click here.

FOOD SAFETY MODERNIZATION ACT

The Food Safety Modernization Act passed into federal law in 2011 and aims to prevent food contamination before it happens rather than responding after an outbreak of food-borne illness has occurred. 

The Produce Safety Rule, one of seven rules housed within FSMA, is the first set of federal regulatory standards for growing, packing, harvesting, and holding activities of fruits and vegetables. The Rule focuses on the following key requirements:

  • Agriculture water
  • Biological soil amendments of animal origin (manure)
  • Domesticated and wild animals
  • Worker training and health & hygiene
  • Growing, harvesting, packing and holding activities
  • Equipment, tools, buildings, and sanitation
  • Records
  • Sprouts

WHO IS COVERED, AND WHO IS EXEMPT?

The first step in determining whether or not your farm is covered is to complete the online Produce Farm Inventory Survey.

  • Completion of the Produce Farm Inventory Survey is a requirement of Kentucky’s Produce Safety Regulation (302 KAR 60:010). 
  • This requirement pertains to all covered farms, and farms eligible for exemption. 
  • If you have not already submitted this information to KDA's Produce Safety Program, please take a moment to do so while you are on this page.
  • To see if your farm is covered by the Rule, refer to the Standards for Produce Safety Flow Chart.

The FSMA Produce Safety Rule applies to any farm that annually grosses more than $25,000 in covered produce sales, averaged across a rolling three-year period and adjusted for inflation.  Covered produce includes any fruit or vegetable that is typically consumed raw. You can find a list of covered produce here.

The Produce Safety Rule does NOT apply to:

  • Operations that annually gross under $25,000 in covered produce sales, averaged across a rolling three-year period and adjusted for inflation
  • Produce that is not a raw agricultural product (such as tomato ketchup), including commercially processed produce
  • Commodities that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has identified as rarely consumed raw (such as sweet corn)
  • Produce that is used only for personal or on-farm consumption
  • Food grains.

A farm may be eligible for qualified exemption status if it meets BOTH requirements below:

  • The farm must have food sales averaging less than $500,000 per year during the previous three years; and
  • The farm’s sales to qualified end-users must exceed sales to all others combined during the previous three years

*A qualified end-user is either the consumer of the food or a restaurant or retail food establishment in the same state as the farm or not more than 275 miles away.

WHEN MUST MY FARM BE IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE PRODUCE SAFETY RULE?

Deadlines for compliance are based on the size of each operation and divided by sprouts, produce, and water. For a full list of compliance dates, click here.

Please note that you will need to view the compliance dates under the "Produce Safety (Part 112)" tab.

WHAT TRAINING AND RESOURCES ARE AVAILABLE?

The FSMA Produce Safety Rule and KDA Regulations require at least one supervisor or responsible party per farm successfully complete a food safety training course.

The Produce Safety Alliance (PSA) Grower Training will satisfy the food safety education requirement and discusses the Produce Safety Rule in detail. There are several virtual PSA Grower Trainings hosted per year by KDA and the University of Kentucky.

WHEN WILL THE NEXT PSA TRAINING TAKE PLACE?

KDA in partnership with the University of Kentucky provides PSA Grower Trainings across the state. These courses are hosted both virtually and in person. The course takes approximately 8 hours to complete and is free of charge for Kentucky Producers.

For more information on the PSA Grower Training or to register for upcoming courses, please contact the Produce Safety Program at 502-573-0282. 

HOW TO REQUEST AN ON FARM READINESS REVIEW (OFRR) THROUGH KDA?

The Produce Safety Program offers no-cost On-Farm Readiness Reviews (OFRR) upon request. OFRRs are educational farm visits to provide education and resources to a producer before an inspection. These visits are focused on educating producers about the Produce Safety Rule and how it applies to their unique operation.  During an OFRR, KDA staff will assess the farm’s produce production, harvest practices, and handling operations. The Produce Safety Team will make recommendations, if needed, based on the requirements of the rule, to help the farm ensure they are in compliance before they receive their official inspection.

You are not required to have taken the PSA training before undergoing an OFRR, but it is highly recommended.

To contact KDA and request an OFRR, please call the Kentucky Department of Agriculture Produce Safety Program at (502) 573-0282.

The University of Kentucky’s Center for Crop Diversification offers training and resources to help growers assess their status under the FSMA as well as Produce Best Practices Training, consultation on third-party audits, and other topics.

Publications were made possible by FDA grant number 5U18FD006459-01. Their contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the FDA.